Predator
by Arion
Summary: Heero and Duo meet two girls at a carnival and it turns into something more than just an encounter. *COMPLETE*
1. The Carnival

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to it's rightful owners.  
  
A/N: Okay, me and Deathscythe Chick are writing this fic together, and this is actually my first Gundam Wing ficcy ^^ I'm planning on writing one on my own real soon too so watch out for that. Anyways, we hope you like it and please PLEASE review!!!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Misty~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The room was dark and cold. The only source of light was a computer screen that was built into a wall. A person was seating in a chair in front of it, but the light was not enough to even tell if it was a man or a woman. The person pressed a button on a remote control and a page of information came up on the screen, complete with a picture.  
  
"Trinity Silverlight" the person read out loud.  
  
"Age: 15  
  
D.O.B: March 15, 1987  
  
Gender: Female  
  
Hair Color: Light Brown  
  
Eye Color: Varies. Brown as of now.  
  
Height: 5"6  
  
Weight: 127 lbs  
  
Hobbies: Art, Karate, Dance, Singing, etc.  
  
Well that's not saying too much" the person grunted and scrolled down to the picture. It was obviously taken without the girl's knowledge. It must have been gym class, she was dressed in sweatpants and a loose fitting shirt, and her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. She was running down a track with a few other girls.  
  
The mystery person nodded in approval and pushed a button so that the second page came up.  
  
"Acire Selarom.  
  
Age: 15  
  
D.O.B.: October 1st 1986  
  
Gender: Female  
  
Hair color: Black  
  
Height: 5''6  
  
Weight: 125 lbs  
  
Hobbies: Reading, Singing, Dancing"  
  
In the picture Acire was captured obviously through a window in a classroom. She was sitting at a desk, keeping her head up with her left arm and writing something in a notebook with her right hand.  
  
"Yes. They're perfect" the person said leaning back on the chair.  
  
* * *  
  
"This is gonna be great! I can't remember the last time I've been at a carnival!" Duo Maxwell chirped as he walked down the gravel path toward the shiny lights of a summer carnival.  
  
His four friends followed him a few steps behind. Quatre was delighted to go and the look on his face would remind you of a small child. Trowa being the mellow and quiet one, simply went along. Wulfie was forced to go, not wanting to spend yet another night alone polishing his swords. And Heero still couldn't believe he let Duo talk him into going to a carnival of all places.  
  
As they neared the carnival Duo's nose picked up a sweet smell that could only be cotton candy and with a brief "See you guys later!" he took off.  
  
"I guess I'll go with him. Keep him out of trouble" Heero grumbled and walked in the direction Duo went. The rest of the boys split up as well, each going their separate way.  
  
When Heero reached Duo, he was already packing down on the pink and blue sugary sweet mass. Seeing Heero he mumbled something along the lines of "Want some?" and waved the pink fluff in Heero's face.  
  
"No, thanks" Heero replied, briskly pushing it away.  
  
"Suit yourself" he answered filling his mouth with more sugar.  
  
Swallowing the mouthful he pointed to a ride that had "Zipper" written on it's side in flashy letters.  
  
"We gotta go on that!" he cried and pushing people out of his way, rushed to the ride. Heero sighed and followed him.  
  
They both bought tickets and headed for the line on the left. As they waited their turn, Duo's wandering eyes stopped on two girls in the right line. Both were around five feet six inches, equally slim. One had slightly tanned skin, long wavy brown hair that hung loosely almost all the way down to her waist, and piercing brown eyes. She wore dark blue hip-hugging jeans, a light blue sleeveless tank top and white sneakers. A silver bracelet in a form of a chain and a tiny heart hung on her right wrist, and silver hoop earrings, decorated with tiny diamonds. The only makeup she wore was lip gloss that made her lips shine.  
  
The second one had dark brown skin that went perfectly with her straight, slick black hair down to her waist and beautiful green eyes. She wore boot- cut jeans, a white tank top and sneakers. To top off the outfit, she wore a choker around her neck and silver hoop earrings almost identical to the once the other girl was wearing. She wore no make up, but she didn't need any, she looked great natural. As Duo stared she said something and the brunette laughed.  
  
Duo elbowed Heero excitedly.  
  
"Check out the babes" he grinned and nodded toward the girls.  
  
Heero rolled his eyes but looked in that direction anyway, so that Duo would stop jabbing him in the ribs. To Heero's luck, the ride has just stopped and it was their turn. It was also the girl's turn and they got into the cabin on the opposite side of them.  
  
As they got in, the ride's operator closed the gate and made sure it was locked. When all the cabins were full the ride started and everything went spinning. You could no longer tell where was up and where was bottom. All there was you and the cabin that spun in each direction.  
  
Duo shut his eyes tightly and opened his mouth to scream, but was silenced by his precious cotton candy that was now smearing all over his face. Next to him Heero didn't utter a sound, but Duo wasn't expecting him too. All the other people on this particular ride, and on all the other rides at the carnival, were screaming but he could still clearly hear two female voices screaming on the top of their lungs.  
  
Just when he thought he was going to choke the ride stopped at the very top, the cabin rocked back and forth violently a little more and then completely stopped. Grateful, Duo began pealing the sticky pinkish blue mass off his face and out of his hair. Just then he heard someone laughing and quickly peeled the cotton candy off his eyelids so he could see.  
  
In the cabin opposite of his and Heero's sat none other than the two girls he saw just before they go on the ride. They were both laughing hard and obviously at him. He blushed, and quickly proceeded with getting rid of the cotton candy.  
  
"Hey" the girl with the brown hair yelled, still laughing.  
  
"Hey" Duo answered grinning.  
  
"Is your friend okay?" the girl with the black hair questioned "he looks kind of pale"  
  
Duo looked at Heero who sat there with his arms folded.  
  
"Oh yeah, he's fine. He always looks like that" Duo answered laughing.  
  
The girl grinned.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"Duo Maxwell"  
  
"Acire. Acire Selarom" she said "And this here, is Trinity Silverlight, Trin for short"  
  
"Oh yeah, this is Heero" Duo pointed at Heero.  
  
Trinity waved and smiled, Heero still sat as if he was oblivious to the whole conversation.  
  
Acire and Duo then went back to flirting and Trinity looked over at Heero. She had to admit he was handsome, and rather cute. But she wasn't the one to obsess over boys. She'd take her chance if she had it, though. Heero obviously feeling someone's eyes on him, looked up and seeing Trinity looking at him glared at her. She glared back, not backing down one bit.  
  
All of a sudden Duo, who was fiddling with the lock the whole time, swung the cabin's door open, wanting to get Acire's number. Acire and Trinity paled and gaped at him in horror and Heero angrily grabbed at the metal bars of the door and slammed it shut, unfortunately on Duo's fingers, all while cursing at him in several languages. Duo yelped in pain as the ride started again, moving slowly to let everyone out.  
  
When Heero and Duo got off the ride, Acire and Trinity were already waiting for them. Duo's fingers were black and blue and he was glaring at Heero, who was once again oblivious to the situation. Acire immediately asked Duo if he was okay and Trinity laughed.  
  
Duo and Acire kept flirting as if nothing had happened and Trin and Heero just stood there. Trinity tried making conversation but Heero didn't open his mouth once, so she gave up. Then she looked at her watch, her eyes widened and she elbowed Acire.  
  
"Ouch! What?!" Acire complained, rubbing her arm.  
  
"Do you know what time it is!?" Trin snapped.  
  
"Who cares" Acire shrugged.  
  
"Who cares?! Did you forget about a certain performance we had to do?!" Trin yelled, loosing her patience.  
  
".performance?.The performance!! Is it seven already?!" Acire cried, finally understanding what Trin was telling her.  
  
"No. But it's six forty-five and we didn't even start getting ready yet!!" Trin growled, grabbing Acire's arm and dragging her after her.  
  
Duo who remained quiet throughout the entire argument spoke up realizing they were leaving and he still didn't get Acire's number.  
  
"Hey! Where are you guys going?" he yelled.  
  
"We're performing on that stage over there in fifteen minutes!" Acire yelled as Trin dragged her away.  
  
"Fourteen" Trin snapped.  
  
"Performing?" Duo mused "What do you suppose they do?"  
  
Heero of course didn't answer with anything but silence.  
  
* * *  
  
Fourteen minutes later, Duo and Heero were standing in a very large crowd of people in front of the stage. Right now a band of boys were finishing up a song. When they were done the audience cheered and the announcer ran onto the stage and introduced Acire and Trin, calling them the future stars of the music business. As he finished the lights went off and the stage was dark. Slowly the music started and the lights brightened just as slowly. On stage, about ten people were lined up in two lines, their backs facing the audience. All of them were wearing long trench-coat-like jackets and hats, so it was impossible to tell who was who. Suddenly the music sped up and all the figures on stage began dancing to it, their backs still facing the audience. Then, as suddenly as it began, the music stopped and the figures froze. The stage lights turned toward the audience and completely blinded them, so it was impossible to see what was going on at the stage.  
  
When the lights went back to normal, everyone saw that the people on the stage shed their coats and hats and were all wearing matching, tight, outfits and the crowd went wild. Trinity and Acire stood in the middle of the first line. They both wore black pants and black halter tops with sparkles all over them. A fast song began and they both began singing and dancing to the music, the back up dancers adding a professional touch to the performance.  
  
Duo was completely into the performance, he sang along and even attempted to copy their dance moves while Heero stood motionless, his arms folded, trying to look like he didn't know Duo. All throughout the song, he saw the green-eyed girl giving Duo flirtatious looks and Duo gave plenty back to her. And he saw the brunette, what was her name, Tina? Trina? look at him a few times since without having anything better to do, he watched the performance.  
  
In the middle of the performance a man who looked about to be in his mid thirties, jumped on stage. He moved toward the girls, appearing to be drunk. Heero grabbed his gun, but when he looked up, to his amazement Trin was already beating up the guy. This was the part of the song where the singers took a break and showed off their dancing talent and as Trin fought, her moves matched the beat of the song perfectly and it all looked like a part of the show. As she kicked the man in the stomach, he fell off the stage and the crowd cheered. She then picked up the song with Acire and they finished the number. The audience clapped and Duo whistled and cheered louder than anyone as they headed off the stage. Heero slowly put his gun away.  
  
* * *  
  
Duo and Heero met the girls next to the backstage exit, they had already changed back into their normal clothes. Duo couldn't stop raving about how much he loved the performance.  
  
"Good moves" Heero said to Trin roughly.  
  
"Thanks, I've been taking karate for five years" she beamed.  
  
Seeing that Heero and Trinity were kind of talking now, Duo suggested that they split up. Acire agreed immediately and said they would meet back here in a hour and she and Duo left.  
  
Trin and Heero stood in silence.  
  
"We don't have to go on any rides, if you don't want to. I can go find some friends from school or something" Trin said awkwardly and looked at Heero.  
  
"How about we go on that" he said, something in his eyes flickering.  
  
Trin turned to see what he was referring to. It was a ride where you pretty much bungee jumped. She grinned. She had always wanted to try that, but all of her friends were too afraid to go with her.  
  
"Sure!" she answered and started in the direction of the ride.  
  
Heero followed, surprised she agreed.  
  
"I thought girls hate this kind of stuff" he said, as they were waiting in line.  
  
"Most girls do" Trin laughed.  
  
* * *  
  
In an hour Trin and Heero were already waiting for Duo and Acire. They had gone on the bungee jumping ride four times and she loved it. It was a lot of fun and she noticed she was the only girl in the line.  
  
In about ten minutes Duo and Acire finally came, it turned out they went to the fun house. Trin didn't even want to know what else they did. She was thirsty from all the bungee jumping, and told them she was going to get a soda and disappeared into the crowd.  
  
As she walked somebody grabbed her and pulled her into the shadows. She elbowed the person into the ribs and spun around as they released her. In front of her was a boy a little bit taller than her. He had black hair and black eyes, he wore jeans and a denim jacket. Trin remembered him from school, he was in a couple of her classed and always watched her. He also hung around her locker a lot and she remembered seeing him staring at her during lunch.  
  
"Hi Trinity, I'm Shane" he said in a low voice.  
  
"I know, I remember you from school" she replied.  
  
"Oh really? Did you get my letters, Trin?"  
  
Letters? She had gotten notes put in her locker, and she got e-mails from a person who claimed to know and to love her. She also remembered seeing someone following her when she walked outside in the evenings, but she dismissed it as her imagination. There had even been a couple of phone calls on her home phone and on her cell phone, but she thought they were all her friends or people from school that had nothing better to do.  
  
"It was you?" she snapped.  
  
"Yes, love"  
  
"Why did you do all this?" she inquired.  
  
"'cause I love you, don't you understand?"  
  
"You're crazy" Trin growled and turned to leave. Shane grabbed her arm roughly and yanked her back. Trinity spun around and slapped him hard across the face.  
  
"Leave me alone!"  
  
Just then about four other guys came out of the shadows and grabbed her. She thrashed, swung her leg above her head and kicked Shane in the face, kicked one of the other guys in the stomach and managed to brake someone else's arm. But they still over powered her and restrained her.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
Meanwhile, Heero, Acire and Duo got tired of waiting for Trin and Duo said he wanted more cotton candy, so they all decided to go. As they neared the food shop they saw Trin arguing with some guy, they barely recognized her since it was almost pitch dark where she was. As they watched, she turned to leave but the guy grabbed her arm. She turned around and slapped him when four other guys jumped out of the shadows and grabbed her. One of them covered her mouth with a cloth and in seconds she collapsed.  
  
Heero immediately took off with Duo right behind him and Acire a few steps behind. 


	2. Packing

Authors Note: Umm....I don't really have anything significant about the story...but I do have one things to say...I RULE!!!  
  
~~ Deathscythe Chick  
  
AN: See it didn't take us forever to get this chapter out ^^ Promise chapter 3 will be out soon too. Oh yeah, before I forget, I have a question, do you guys think we made Heero a bit OCC? Cuz if we did then we need to know so we can fix it ^^;; thanks! But anyway, hope you like this chapter and please review!!!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Misty~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Acire picked up speed and ran past Duo.  
  
"What are you doing? It's dangerous! Go back!" Duo shouted behind her.  
  
"No. She's my friend. I can't."  
  
Acire saw a black van in which four guys were struggling to get Trinity into. She then saw Heero reach somewhere into his jacket and pull out a gun. She stopped dead in her tracks as he pointed the gun at Trinity's kidnappers. She went ballistic and ran to Heero's side and yelled at him.  
  
"What are you doing?! You...you might hurt Trin by accident!"  
  
"I never miss." Heero said in a low voice.  
  
"Heero, man, she's right. You might cause the people in the carnival to panic." Duo agreed running up to him as well.  
  
"Duo, you only agree with her because you like her."  
  
Duo stood dumbfounded. Heero looked at him and sighed a bit annoyed. He put his gun away.  
  
"Fine."  
  
He walked towards the black van as if nothing drastic was happening, the kidnappers saw him and hurried in to put Trinity in the back of the van. Acire shook her head.  
  
"He's not thinking of taking on all four of them at the same time is he?!"  
  
"Nope. I'm gonna help!" Duo said.  
  
He ran to the van, where Heero was already beating up on the guys. Duo decided to take on two of them, while Heero took on the last two. Acire could do nothing but cheer them on and watch.  
  
'No other guy that I know would go play "hero" for a girl like this', Acire though 'Then again, maybe Heero's always like this…'  
  
She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Duo's voice.  
  
"He-Heero! Help man!" Duo choked out. One of the guys he was fighting had him in a head lock. The other guy he had fought was lying on the floor unconscious.  
  
"I can't get these guys off my back. Hold on!"  
  
"No...I can't" Duo said in a small voice.  
  
"Stop! you'll kill him!" Acire cried out.  
  
She ran over to Duo and his opponent, but even while seeing Acire, the guy didn't loosen his grip on Duo's neck.  
  
"You want some of this, baby?" he said laughing.  
  
"No. But you can have some of THIS!" she cried and kicked the guy between his legs.  
  
The guy instantly let go of Duo which gave him the opportunity to turn around and pummel him with punches. When all the guys were down, Acire went to the back of the van and saw Trinity laying on the back seat.  
  
* * *  
  
"Wake up." a familiar voice said.  
  
Trinity opened her eyes slowly and saw Acire's worried face looking down at her.  
  
"What happened?" Trin said softly.  
  
Acire grinned.  
  
"Loverboy saved you." she whispered.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Yeah, you know, Heero?"  
  
"Oh..."  
  
Trinity sat up.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
"Girl, what did those guys do to you? You don't even remember what my room looks like?"  
  
Trinity's eyes wandered around.  
  
"Oh that's right..."  
  
"Duh"  
  
"What time is it?" Trinity said looking at her watch. "Ugh...it's 10:00 p.m."  
  
"Come on let's go to the kitchen and get you somethin'."  
  
"Yeah, whatever." Trinity said weakly.  
  
Acire helped her up and lead her to the kitchen.  
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention..." Acire said as they were near the kitchen.  
  
"What?" Trin asked.  
  
"Hi Trinity! Are you feeling better?" Duo said grinning as he sat at Acire's kitchen table.  
  
"We have visitors!" Acire beamed.  
  
Heero was across from Duo and he was just staring at the surface of the table. He stood like that for a while and finally looked up.  
  
"I see that you're okay" he said.  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
Acire sat next to Duo and put one arm around him.  
  
"Come on Trin! We all saved ya! Don't you think we deserve a thanks?" Acire said and grinned.  
  
Duo looked at Acire and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What? I did help..." she said to Duo.  
  
"Thanks..." Trin muttered.  
  
She sat in a chair between Heero and Acire and leaned onto the table with her elbows. Acire stared at her.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"Remember how I told you about those e-mails and prank phone calls I got?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"They were all from this guy at school."  
  
"What guy?"  
  
"Shane."  
  
"Shane?"  
  
"Yeah. I don't know his last name, but you remember him, don't you? He would always stare at me during lunch."  
  
"Him?!"  
  
"Yes, him. It was him and his friends who tried to kidnap me."  
  
Acire gasped.  
  
"So you know the guy who tried to kidnap you, huh?" Duo said.  
  
"I don't know him very well...we just had like, two classes together." Trin explained, twirling a ring on her finger.  
  
Acire looked worried.  
  
"Acire..." Trinity said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"The kidnappers put me to sleep by covering my mouth with a cloth with some chemical. But for a few seconds… I could still hear them talking…"  
  
"Huh? What did they say?"  
  
"One of the guys said something like 'Guess who's next, babe? That's right, your other friend.'"  
  
"No!" Acire cried.  
  
"Yes. Look, they probably know where we live and it's only a matter of time before they show up. We need to hide out somewhere."  
  
Duo suddenly quipped.  
  
"You're welcome to stay with us."  
  
"Duo..." Heero said with an annoyed tone.  
  
"What?! We have the extra space. Come on Heero..."  
  
"No."  
  
"They are in danger..."  
  
"NO"  
  
"It's ok, Duo" Trinity said. "We can take care of ourselves."  
  
"No Trinity. Stop it with the 'I'm a tough girl' act. You might not be scared but I am."  
  
Trinity looked at her worried friend strangely.  
  
"Oh come on, I never thought of you to be the cry baby typ-" Trin started.  
  
"Please Heero let us stay with you." Acire pleaded and Trin slapped her forehead in embarrassment.  
  
Heero looked at the terror in Acire's green eyes. He then looked at Trinity who was still shaking her head at her friend's antics.  
  
"Fine. But only for a few days!"  
  
The fright in Acire's eyes disappeared all too fast and she got up and hugged Heero.  
  
"Yay! Thanks!" she cheered like a small child.  
  
Suddenly Acire thought of something and let go of Heero..  
  
"Sorry for hugging him, Trin!" she laughed.  
  
"What?!" Trin cried.  
  
"Don't worry it was just a friendly hug, nothing more."  
  
Trinity glared at Acire.  
  
"So?! Why should I don't care! Hug him all you want!"  
  
"Now if I didn't know any better, what Trinity just said meant, 'That's right Acire, get your hands off of him or else."  
  
"Omae o korosu..." Heero grumbled and Trinity shot Acire a death glare.  
  
Duo whistled.  
  
"Well I'm gonna go pack." Acire said backing away.  
  
"I'll go with you!" Duo said standing up.  
  
"I bet you will.." Trinity said.  
  
Duo smirked.  
  
"Trin you and Heero should go to your house and pack too. Don't worry, Heero, her house is really close to mine. Just a hop, skip, and jump away."  
  
"Yeah I should go." Trin said.  
  
Heero stood up.  
  
"Follow the leader, bodyguard." Duo said jokingly.  
  
Heero muttered something under his breath and him and Trinity went out the front door.  
  
"Come back when you're done packing!" Acire called out to them.  
  
"Will do!" Trinity called from somewhere outside.  
  
Acire turned to Duo and smiled.  
  
"Come on...help me pack." she said.  
  
"Sure." he answered.  
  
* * *  
  
"I can't leave without my laptop!" Trinity rambled.  
  
Heero sat on Trin's bed as she ran around her room, packing things.  
  
"Oh and I need money, too." she said to herself.  
  
She opened one of her drawers and started throwing things out. Shirts, socks, and other things flew about her room. A shirt landed on Heero's head and he swiped it off. Trinity couldn't help laughing.  
  
"Sorry." she said. "It's been a while since I cleaned in here."  
  
"I see that. Are you done yet?"  
  
"Yeah, almost."  
  
Heero sighed and waited for ten more minutes as Trin kept stuffing more things into her oversized duffel bags.  
  
"Okay, I'm done!" she finally said, looking around her room one last time to make sure she didn't forget anything.  
  
Heero nodded.  
  
"Come on let's go to Acire's house. We can't leave those two alone."  
  
Trinity picked up her bags.  
  
"Shouldn't have...packed...so much stuff." she sighed.  
  
Heero only responded with a snicker.  
  
* * *  
  
Heero walked ahead of Trinity and looked down at the cement floor. He heard Trinity's heavy breathing behind him, he turned around and saw her struggling with her heavy bags. He shook his head and went towards her.  
  
"Give them to me." he said.  
  
"No I can handl-" she started to say, but Heero grabbed them from her hands and continued walking, as Trinity stood behind.  
  
"Umm...thank you?" she said quietly.  
  
When they reached Acire's house, Acire and Duo were sitting on the couch in her living room, watching TV. Acire's head was tilted against Duo's shoulder and there were a lot of bags at her and Duo's feet.  
  
"HELLO?! We are staying there for only a few days! We're NOT moving in with them!" Trinity cried as she saw all the bags.  
  
"Hmm...? Oh it's you." Acire said picking up her head.  
  
"No, it's your fairy godmother! Wouldn't kill you to lock the door, you know" Trinity snapped.  
  
"What for? Duo's here with me" Acire replied in her defense.  
  
"No kidding" Trin growled picking up the remote and shutting off the TV.  
  
"Hey! We were watching that!" Acire cried trying to get the remote back.  
  
"Weren't you the one who couldn't wait to get out of here? So come on" Trin snapped once again.  
  
"Okay, okay, no need to bite my head off" Acire said getting up and picking up some of her bags while Duo picked up the rest.  
  
Trin muttered something under her breath and headed out the door. A black corvette convertible was parked in the driveway, which she hadn't seen before because when she and Heero went to her house they had used the back door.  
  
Trinity whistled slowly. "Nice"  
  
"Thanks" Heero muttered and put her bags in the trunk and Duo did the same with Acire's bags.  
  
Heero then easily hopped into the driver's seat without opening the door and not much to Trin's surprise, Duo hopped into the back seat and Acire eagerly got in next to him. Trin shrugged and took the front seat, not like she had a choice anyway. When everyone was seated, Heero started the car and sped out of the driveway and down the street.    
  
Neither of them noticing a black van parked under a tree just a little down the street, and none of them noticing a window roll up in that same van as they drove off. 


	3. Moving in and Wu-man

A/N: I cant believe I finished this chapter ^^; I was beginning to think I had writer's block. Anyway, pleeeeaaaaaaasssssseeeeee review!!! Okay? ^^;;;;  
  
Luv,  
  
~Misty~  
  
  
  
"We're here!!" Duo cried jumping out of the car as Heero pulled up to the curb.  
  
"For once, wait until we stopped" Heero snapped getting out of the car and opening the trunk.  
  
Trin and Acire got out of the car and looked around. In front of them was a big, luxurious-looking house. It was two stories high, but its windows were suspiciously small. The front yard was nicely landscaped and the gravel paths were lined with decorative stones.  
  
"Whoa.." Acire gaped at the house until, exasperated with her, Trin shut her mouth and followed Duo and Heero to the house.  
  
As they walked in both of them gasped. On the inside the house looked nothing like did on the outside. They were in a small room with a single door, a small computer-looking device hung to the left of it. A single bulb lighted the room. Heero walked up to the device and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard.  
  
"Name?" A computer voice said.  
  
"Heero Yuy"  
  
A large square appeared on the screen and Heero placed his hand on it, a green light ran up and down his palm. Then a laser-like device scanned his eye.  
  
Heero stepped away from the device and Duo went through the same procedure. Heero then went back to the it and pressed a few more keys.  
  
"Ready to record new identification" the same computer voice said and Heero pushed Trin up to the computer.  
  
"Say your name" he told her.  
  
"Trinity Silverlight" she said clearly and the computer beeped, recording the data. Then the same square on the screen and the same laser came out and scanned Trin's palm and eye, after that she was done and it was Acire's turn.  
  
She told the computer her name, but hesitated to put her hand on the screen.  
  
"Don't worry, it wont hurt" Duo told her and placed his hand reassuringly on her shoulder. Acire smiled and put her hand on the screen, allowing the computer to scan her palm and eye.  
  
After that the door finally opened.  
  
"You can't get inside unless your data is in the database" Heero explained shortly.  
  
They stepped into a room only a little bigger than the one they were just in. There were three doors in front of them and Heero chose the far right one that led them into a bigger room, that was as they found out later, the living room. There was a TV built into the wall on the left and a couch in front of it. There was also a table and a couple of chairs, to the right was a small kitchen with a refrigerator and all the other usual kitchen appliances.  
  
On the couch, a green-eyed boy was reading a book. A section of his mustard brown hair fell, covering one of his eyes. In the kitchen, a blond boy sat at the table and ate a sandwich.  
  
Heero and Duo dropped the girls' bags, and Trin snatched one up quickly and glared at Heero.  
  
"Watch it, that's my laptop" she growled.  
  
"Hn"  
  
The two boys looked up at that and plainly stared at the four for a moment. The blond boy dropped his sandwich.  
  
"What do we do?" Acire whispered to Trinity, unusually shy and nervous.  
  
"Um, say hi?" she whispered back.  
  
"Hi" they both said and smiled in unison.  
  
The two boys blinked back at them.  
  
"Um, this is Trin and Acire. They'll be living with us for a while" Duo grinned and explained.  
  
Two questionable pairs of eyes turned to Heero, who nodded stiffly.  
  
The blond boy snapped out of his trance and got up walking toward them.  
  
"Hi, I'm Quatre Barbera Winner" he smiled apologetically as he shook the girls' hands.  
  
The boy on the couch got up to shake their hands as well.  
  
"Trowa Barton"  
  
"I'm sorry we were so impolite at first" Quatre said politely "We're just not used to having visitors"  
  
"No problem" Trin cracked a smile.  
  
"So did you say you were staying with us?" he asked as if to make conversation.  
  
"Um, yeah. My friend here-" Trin started to say, but was cut off by Acire jabbing her in the ribs and glared at her. "Er, that is, we're in a bit of trouble"  
  
"Trouble?"  
  
"Yeah.. This guy's stalking her and threatened to kidnap us" Acire cut in.  
  
"It's not like that!" Trin snapped "See, he tried to kidnap me and I heard them saying that Acire was next so she kind of panicked-ow!" The last part was from Acire jabbing her in the ribs again.  
  
"What's your problem?!" she growled turning on Acire "I'm telling it as it is!"  
  
"No you're not! You're making me sound like some sort of baby!" Acire shot back.  
  
"You *are* a baby! We could've taken care of ourselves perfectly well, but no! Just because you're head over heels-"  
  
"Oh I'm sorry Miss-Brown-Belt in karate-!"  
  
"That's *second* brown belt! Get it right!"  
  
Just when it looked like they were about to lunge at each other Duo stepped in between them.  
  
"Okay, okay, chill out" he said and received two death glares in return.  
  
"Um, okay, I think I understand basically what happened" Quatre smiled, hoping that would resolve the fight.  
  
Before they had time to say anything else, they heard footsteps and the door in the wall on the left opened and a Chinese boy walked in. He was dressed in some sort of kimono and carried a sword.  
  
"What's all the noise about Maxwell, you're interrupting my-" he started to say but stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed the two girls standing with the rest of the boys.  
  
He blinked, then his face hardened.  
  
"What are these two onnas doing here? What's the meaning of this?" he practically barked.  
  
"Excuse me for a moment please" Quatre said quickly and took the boy by the elbow into the kitchen. They were seen whispering and the Chinese boy clearly looked unhappy.  
  
"That's Wufei" Duo explained to Trin and Acire "But you can call him Wu- man"  
  
"What's he got against us?" Acire asked.  
  
"He doesn't like girls very much" Duo explained nervously.  
  
"And why is that?" Trin asked sharply.  
  
"He thinks they're weak.." Duo said meekly and received a blow to the stomach from Heero.  
  
"He thinks *WHAT?!*" Trin exploded, making Duo cringe and Quatre and Wufei to turn and look at her.  
  
Never once in her life did she let anyone get away with calling her weak.  
  
"Weak onna" Wufei said with distaste folding his arms.  
  
Trin would have lunged at him, if Heero expecting this, hadn't grabbed her by the waist and held her back. She was surprisingly strong and it wasn't as easy to restrain her as he thought it would be. But even as he struggled to make her settle down, he mused on how he had just met the girl today and he already knew her character so well.  
  
"Whoa, Trin, chill out" Duo cried and received another death glare from her.  
  
"Trin, come on, we'll be living with them, we have to get along with them" Acire pleaded "Come on, please"  
  
Trin glared in response, but still settled down a little bit. Heero cautiously let go of her, ready to restrain her again if needed. Quatre went back to talking to Wufei.  
  
"Ignore Wufei" Heero suddenly said and Trin turned and smiled at him. "He's not worth it" he added.  
  
Suddenly there was a ring, like from a telephone. Trowa went up to the TV and pressed a few buttons on a keyboard underneath it. There was a click and an image of a woman appeared on the screen. She looked to be about in her twenties, with long platinum blond hair and blue eyes.  
  
Immediately Quatre and Wufei stopped arguing and went to sit on the couch in front of the screen. Duo plopped down on the couch as well and Heero stood behind him, his arms folded. Trowa took a seat in one of the chairs. Trin and Acire were left standing awkwardly near the door.  
  
"What's up Dorothy?" Duo grinned.  
  
"Gundam Pilots, you have a new mission" 'Dorothy' announced, barely cracking a smile.  
  
'Gundam Pilots?' Trin mouthed to Acire who shrugged.  
  
"Your mission is to find these two girls as soon as possible and keep them safe, for now" Dorothy continued a photograph appeared on the screen.  
  
Everyone stared in shock.  
  
On screen was a picture of Acire and Trin on the beach, both of them wearing two-piece swimsuits.  
  
Acire and Trin's mouths dropped open and they blushed. Duo grinned and winked at Acire and if you looked hard enough, you could see a faint blush on Heero's face.  
  
The photograph shrunk and moved to the bottom of the screen as Dorothy's image came back.  
  
"Um, Dorothy" Duo started.  
  
"They're freshmen at the local high school," Dorothy continued, ignoring Duo.  
  
"Dorothy-"  
  
"And luckily they both live on the same-"  
  
"Dorothy" Duo interrupted again.  
  
"Not now, Duo" she snapped, glaring at him "Now their names are Tri-"  
  
"Trinity Silverlight and Acire Selarom, we know!" Duo cried.  
  
"What? How?" Dorothy's expression was pure shock.  
  
"They're here, we found them already" Duo explained.  
  
"But how did you know to-"  
  
"We didn't, exactly" Duo sighed and told her the entire story.  
  
Dorothy nodded, her expression hardening.  
  
"Duo you know better then-"  
  
"I know, I know" Duo waved her off.  
  
Dorothy shook her head.  
  
"Where are they?" she asked.  
  
Acire and Trin slowly walked forward and stood behind the couch as everyone turned to look at them. Acire straightened out her shirt quickly and Trin brushed her hair out of her face, both of them feeling self conscious.  
  
Dorothy looked them over and nodded.  
  
"Well they both look unharmed" she muttered, then noticed a bruise forming on Trin's arm and neck "You should put some ice on that" she told her.  
  
Trin looked at her arm and much to her surprise found a fair size bruise there and winced as she touched it, but quickly covered it up by a smile.  
  
"Don't worry it's fine" she told Dorothy.  
  
Dorothy looked unconvinced, but let it go.  
  
"You girls are in more danger than you think" she told them "You should consider yourself lucky you've met Duo and Heero"  
  
Trin opened her mouth to protest, but Acire stopped her. She knew Trin was going to argue that she could have taken on those guys, and she didn't want them to get on Dorothy's bad side.  
  
"Since you're safe for the time being, that's all for now. Be careful" she added and the screen went blank.  
  
The room stayed silent, then Trowa spoke.  
  
"Looks like you're in more trouble than you thought" he said, and Acire nodded slowly.  
  
"Looks like you're stuck with us!" she grinned at Wufei, who glared at them and left the room slamming the door. 


	4. Hacking

"We should've followed them when we had the chance" the person spoke to the shadow in front of him. "Now who knows where they are? We might never find them"  
  
"Silence!" the shadow turned to Shane. "You dare question my orders?"  
  
"Of course not, but-" Shane caught himself.  
  
"Then don't argue!" the person snapped.  
  
Shane stood silent.  
  
"We'll get them. Don't worry about that, that's my job" the shadow continued, more calm now.  
  
"I *will* get her, right?"  
  
"We'll see.."  
  
"You said I'll get her!"  
  
"You will"  
  
"But you said-"  
  
"You stick to your side of the agreement and I'll stick to mine" the shadow said as if to end the argument "Now go"  
  
Shane nodded and left without another word. As the door behind him closed the person in the shadow frowned.  
  
"He's beginning to ask too many questions. I'll have to get rid of him as soon as the job's done"  
  
* * *  
  
Trin hung up the last pair of jeans in the closet and threw the now empty duffel bags onto the closet's floor. Her room was pretty big, it had a bed and a desk in the corner. There was one small window in the wall across from her bed. After almost an hour of unpacking she was finally done. The previously empty room now had framed pictures and a laptop on the desk, the closet was jammed with clothes, a few stuffed animals sat on the bed and Trin put candles everywhere she could. She might not have been boy-crazy but she had a soft spot for candles.  
  
She walked out into the hallway and lingered outside her door. She knew Acire's room was a little down the hall and if she walked to the right of her room, made a left and walked trough a door there would be the hallway where the boys' rooms were. She hesitated then went right.  
  
As she walked she still couldn't believe the mansion they thought the house was, was actually a top secret base. Duo briefly explained it to them, but she still had trouble comprehending that the two boys they met at the carnival were actually gundam pilots. And the base itself was by no stretch of imagination a maze. There were hallways and doors and secret walkways everywhere.  
  
Deep in her thoughts she didn't realize she had already walked to the door and walked straight into it.  
  
"Ouch!" she cried and rubbed her nose.  
  
She heard footsteps behind her and turned around. As soon as she did Wufei brushed past her roughly.  
  
"Weird onna" he muttered as he opened the door and walked down the hallway it revealed.  
  
Trin growled in response and debated whether or not to prance on him. She decided against it, for now.  
  
She watched Wufei disappear into one of the doors, then continued on her way down the hall. At the very end of the hallway she reached what she's been looking for. The door to the room was open half way and she could see Heero sitting at the desk and typing on his black laptop.  
  
She knocked on the doorframe and Heero turned his head just enough to see who it was. She stepped inside and saw him stiffen, but shrugged it off.  
  
"Um, about before. At the carnival I mean," she began slowly as he went back to typing. "What I mean to say is, thanks. For saving me."  
  
He stopped and turned to look at her, amusement in his eyes.  
  
"Not that I couldn't have taken them if I was conscious" she added.  
  
"Right. No problem" he said, almost jokingly.  
  
She rolled her eyes and silence settled over them.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked wanting to break the uncomfortable stillness.  
  
For a moment he was silent then answered.  
  
"I'm trying to find more information about the guys who tried to kidnap you"  
  
"Oh. Why?"  
  
"It's our mission now"  
  
Trin nodded remembering what Dorothy had said. Heero turned back to the computer and she walked up to him looking over his shoulder. She noted that he had hacked into her school's database and as far as she saw Shane was clean. A couple of detentions and a suspension for smoking on school grounds, but nothing major. As she watched, Heero hacked into the police database and did a search there. Same thing, nothing came up.  
  
"Well. How about that" Trin said softly.  
  
"Something's not right" Heero said firmly.  
  
"What do you mean? He's clean" Trin asked, confused.  
  
"Something doesn't feel right" was his answer. She looked at him then back at the screen. As far as she could see, everything was fine.  
  
Suddenly they heard voices and laughter coming from the hallway and turned around. Through the doorway they saw Duo and Acire wrestling. Duo had pinned Acire to the floor and was tickling her. Acire was laughing uncontrollably and tried to pry Duo off of her.  
  
Trin blinked thinking she might be hallucinating, but when she opened her eyes they were still there. Acire somehow managed to wiggle out of Duo's grasp and was on top now. She then looked up and noticed Heero and Trin staring at them. Duo looked up as well and both of them blushed. Acire got off of Duo quickly and both of them got to their feet, Duo practically gaping at Trin.  
  
"Having fun?" she asked.  
  
"Yup" Acire grinned.  
  
Trin nodded slowly.  
  
"What are you doing?" Acire asked nodding toward Heero.  
  
"Nothing"  
  
"Riggghhhtt……" she drawled.  
  
Trin glared at her and started out of the room. Acire shrieked and hid behind Duo. Heero caught Trin's arm as she was leaving. She turned to him with a puzzled expression.  
  
"You should do something about that" he said nodding toward the black and blue bruise on her arm that was slowly getting bigger.  
  
"It's fine, really" Trin smiled.  
  
"Hn"  
  
Trin laughed and walked out of the room and down the hall toward her room, Acire following her a few steps behind. When they reached the door that separated their hallway from the boys', Trin turned and noticed Duo was still gaping at her.  
  
"Maxwell! You can close your mouth now!" she yelled and disappeared through the door. Acire followed her.  
  
Duo watched them leave and slowly closed his mouth. In all the time he knew Heero he couldn't remember anyone, not even one of them, being allowed inside his room.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin tossed and turned in her sleep. After she left Heero's room her sub consciousness kept tugging at her, as if trying to tell her something, but she couldn't quite figure out what.  
  
*Flash*  
  
Trin was walking through the school's parking lot toward her bus. Everything was foggy. She saw Shane walking on the sidewalk to the right of her. A car pulled up to the curb, there were two guys in it.  
  
*Flash*  
  
"Yo Jones" the guy that was in the driver's seat yelled getting out of the car. "What's up, bro?"  
  
*Flash*  
  
Shane turned to face the two thug-looking guys, an angry expression on his face. They were too far away for Trin to be able to hear anything, but she read his lips.  
  
"It's Shane Taylor now" was Shane's angry reply.  
  
*Flash*  
  
Trin sat up in her bed, her eyes wide. Of course, it was so simple. Shane had changed his name from Jones to Taylor.  
  
She jumped out of bed and turned on her laptop. Quickly she hacked her way into the police database and this time did a search for Shane Jones.  
  
The computer beeped as it found a match. She clicked on it. Her eyes widened.  
  
"Name: Shane Eric Jones  
  
Past Felonies:  
  
Assault (2)  
  
Possession of weapon (2)  
  
Possession of drugs (1)  
  
Possession of stolen items (1)  
  
Tried for 2nd degree murder – Not Prosecuted  
  
Restraining Order Filed (2)  
  
Current Status: 30 days probation"  
  
Trin stared at the screen in shock even as her hands gave the computer the command to print out the data.  
  
Finally as the computer finished printing, she grabbed the papers and rushed out of her room, still barefoot and in her pajamas that consisted of sweatpants and a sleeveless tank top. By the time she got to Heero's room she was freezing, but she didn't care.  
  
She didn't stop knocking on Heero's door until he opened it.  
  
"What?" he asked, not looking too happy.  
  
"Heero, Shane changed his name. That's why there was nothing on him in the police database" Trin breathed and showed him the papers. Both of them so caught up in what was happening, neither of them realized Heero was wearing nothing but his boxers.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: hope you liked this chappy, cuz I did ^^;; I just got the Endless Waltz Special Edition DVD! ::jumps around the room:: It's soo amazing!!! ::notices people staring at her:: Um, heh, right, sorry bout that. Oh yeah, before I go, I would like to publicly apologize to Quatre for messing up his middle name. Gomen!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Misty~ 


	5. *Attempt* At A Meeting

"He changed his name?" Heero asked, while looking at the papers.  
  
"Yes! Look all the information you need is right there!" Trin said pointing to the papers in Heero's hands.  
  
"Hmmm…" Heero quietly said as his eyes scammed the papers.  
  
"Well?" Trin asked.  
  
"Yes, he definitely has done a lot of things. This guy is dangerous. It's a good thing Acire insisted that you both stay here."  
  
"Yeah, I guess. Speaking of Acire, I think I'm going to go get her. Why don't you get the rest of the guys?" Trin asked.  
  
"Yeah, okay" Heero agreed.  
  
Trinity turned around to the door and then quickly turned back around to face Heero. He was only in his boxers. Just in his boxers. Heero caught Trin looking at him.  
  
"What are you looking at?" he said.  
  
"Uh…n-nothing!" she said turned away quickly, blushing and hurried to Acire's room.  
  
* * *  
  
"So this is Shane's deepest darkest secret, huh?" Acire said, as she sat cross-legged on the floor of the living room. Unsurprisingly, Duo was next to her.  
  
Her, Trin, Heero, Duo, Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa were all scattered about the living room.  
  
"Yes, it is." Trin replied.  
  
"Well what does it matter, Trin? We got bodyguards!" Acire said grinning.  
  
Wufei grunted.  
  
"Onna, we will not cater to your every need."  
  
Acire laughed, already used to Wufei's attitude.  
  
"It's not a laughing matter!" Trin told Acire, already a bit annoyed by her friend.  
  
"Dang. Sorry." Acire said quietly.  
  
"Why did you bring us here then, Heero?" Trowa asked.  
  
"I wanted to tell you about this guy and make sure you're all clear on the matter. Don't let Acire or Trin get anywhere near him or anyone else that he hangs around with"  
  
"Heero, it's not like we haven't been on a mission before" Quatre reminded him, yawning. Heero ignored him.  
  
"So, that means-" Trin started.  
  
"-one of us will be with you when you are outside of this house." Heero finished for her.  
  
They both looked at each other for a while.  
  
"You took the words right out of my mouth." She said and she smiled.  
  
As Heero, Trin, and the rest of the boys talked, Trin noticed that Duo and Acire were both silent.  
  
"Are you listening to what we're saying, Acire?"  
  
There was no response from her.  
  
"Acire?!"  
  
Trin looked at Acire and saw that she was asleep. Trin slapped Acire on the back of her head roughly. Acire quickly jerked her head up.  
  
"Huh?! Yes?! What happened? Where's Duo?" Acire said, excitedly and half asleep. She turned and saw Duo next to her asleep.  
  
"Oh…there he is…"she said falling back to sleep.  
  
"WAKE UP!" Trin yelled in Acire's ear.  
  
Acire yelped at the intensity of Trin's voice. She opened her eyes wide and made an effort to listen. Duo also woke up, startled.  
  
"That was loud enough to scare the elephants in Africa." Duo said rubbing his ears.  
  
Acire giggled.  
  
"Shut up." Trin snapped.  
  
As they kept discussing the topic of Shane, Duo and Acire kept falling asleep, which resulted in Trin yelling at both of them. Suddenly, Quatre spoke up.  
  
"Let's talk more about this tomorrow. I'm bushed."  
  
"Yeah me too." Trowa said.  
  
"Fine." Heero agreed sounding annoyed.  
  
"Finally." Wufei said.  
  
"Night!" Duo said happily.  
  
He helped Acire up from the floor and they both exited along with Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa. Of course, Acire couldn't leave without throwing her two cents in.  
  
"You two don't stay up too long!" she said to Heero and Trinity.  
  
Duo and Acire's laughter echoed through the hallways.  
  
"Separate rooms YOU two!" Trin shot back.  
  
Duo and Acire's voices vanished and she heard Quatre laughing.  
  
"Well…goodnight." Trin told turning back to face him Heero.  
  
"You too." he said.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She was not in her bed anymore. She was sitting down on a stone bench outside and it was night. She was in a beautiful garden. The walls had green vines covering them. There were sweet-smelling roses everywhere and in the middle of it all was a gazebo, covered in flowers. Trin didn't remember seeing this part of the house. She looked down at herself and saw that she didn't have her pajamas on anymore. She had a lovely gown that was a light blue and made of satin.  
  
"May I have this dance?" a familiar male voice said.  
  
She looked up and saw Heero's outstretched hand. He had on a formal tuxedo, all in black.  
  
"Where are we?" Trin said.  
  
"Come on…dance with me." Heero said.  
  
Trin took his hand and he pulled her up. They slowly walked to the flower covered gazebo and when they got there, Trin put one of her hands on Heero's shoulder and the other one was being held by one of his hands. She put her head down on his other shoulder and they slowly danced.  
  
"I always wanted to tell you…" Heero suddenly said.  
  
Trin raised her head and looked at Heero. He was smiling at her. A real smile.  
  
"What did you want to say?"  
  
Before he could say anything, a deafening blast filled the night sky. Heero's smiling face was no more. It was an expression of pure pain and shock. He leaned his body against Trin and she held his back to keep him from falling against her. Something didn't feel right to her. With one hand still on his back, she brought one of her hands to her face. Her hand was covered in blood, black in the night. Someone had shot Heero.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Heh heh ::sweatdropps:: cliffhanger. ^^;; I *promise* chapter 6 will be up soon! Hope you liked, so review! Ja!  
  
Luv,  
  
Misty  
  
PS  
  
Oh yeah, I really wanna change my author name and I can't think of anything. Any ideas? 


	6. Mind Games

Trin sat up in her bed her eyes wide, gasping for air. She looked about the room wildly. Everything was normal, just like it was when she went to sleep. It was still dark outside and her watch showed 5:30 am. This was definitely her room, not a garden. No question about it.  
  
Her first impulse was to run to Heero's room and make sure he was there. That he was alive. But she brushed it off quickly. She had a feeling he was a light sleeper and would hear her a mile away. She was scared. No, not about that Heero was dead. But about what this meant. Did it mean she was attracted to him? That she cared for him? No. No way. She couldn't possibly care for him. She wasn't the relationship type. Besides, this was Heero after all. Something told her he wasn't exactly into the whole dating thing.  
  
She took a couple of deep breaths. It felt like someone had stabbed her through the heart and slowly turned the knife. It felt so real. So incredibly real. She knew it was a dream, it must have been, right? It was sometimes so painfully hard to tell apart dreams and reality.  
  
She got out of the bed and walked to the window. He legs felt wobbly and her hands shook as she opened the window. The cool night breeze blew onto her face, calming her down a little. She smelled roses and her heart ached. She sighed, mentally kicking herself. As obscene as it sounded, she didn't like having feelings for somebody. It messed up your life too much. Deep inside she was jealous of Heero. No emotions, no nothing. How perfect.  
  
She moved away from the window and headed for the closet. Knowing she wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, she pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. She would love to go for a run right now, but she knew she couldn't. She hoped that they might have a gym or something in this maze of a house.  
  
Trin quickly changed and put her hair up into a ponytail, then grabbing her laptop headed out the door. She stood in the hallway for a minute, thinking. She remembered Wufei saying something about them interrupting his training when they had first arrived at the house. And if her memory was right, he came in through a door in the living room. She shrugged. It was as good a guess as any.  
  
As she turned a corner she ran right into somebody.  
  
"Sorry" she apologized quickly, sub consciously begging it wasn't Heero. As it turned out, it wasn't. As she looked up she realized she had ran into Trowa.  
  
"Oh, hi" she said and continued down the hall.  
  
"I hope you're not going outside"  
  
She turned around, startled. Trowa hadn't really said more than two words to her since they moved in. It seemed her was the shy one of the group.  
  
"I'm not" she answered and turned to leave, but suddenly turned back.  
  
"You don't have a gym or anything here, do you?"  
  
"We do" he nodded slightly. "Go through the door in the living room, go straight, then turn right and take the second door on the left"  
  
"Got it. Thanks"  
  
She turned away and smiled slightly to herself. So her instincts were right. Very good.  
  
Trin followed Trowa's directions easily and as she opened the "second door on the left" it led her into the biggest gym she had ever seen. It had everything you could possibly imagine. The entire left wall was made for rock climbing, there was a huge pool at the far right side of the gym. All kinds of exercise equipment, from stationary bikes to bench pressers were on the right, closest to her. There were ropes hanging from the ceiling and a square part of the gym was cemented. She guessed that was the totami, for Wufei's karate practices. In short, the gym was state of the art.  
  
She placed her laptop on the floor and browsed through her files until she found a mix of fast beat songs she had downloaded. Quickly putting together a 'play list' she clicked "play" and a surprisingly loud fast beat blasted out of the small computer.  
  
Thinking for a moment, she walked out of the gym and shot the door behind her. Just like she thought. Not a sound escaped the walls of the gym. That's twice in a row, she thought.  
  
She went back inside and busied herself with stretches and then everything from running laps to climbing ropes.  
  
* * *  
  
Finally after over three hours of exhausting exercise Trin left the gym. It might have done good for her body, but not for her mind. The dream was fresh in her mind as if she had just woken up and so was the pain in her heart.  
  
She sighed. Her muscles were pulled and hurt. And the few torturous hours of sleep she got were getting to her. Feeling like she was going to collapse she pushed open the door to the living room and walked in.  
  
"Trin! What's up chica!" hit her like a hammer.  
  
She jerked her head in the source of the voice and noticed everyone was sitting at the kitchen table having breakfast.  
  
Normally she would have died of embarrassment. She was quite aware of her appearance. Her t-shirt sleeves rolled up, sweatpants, and her ponytail barely a ponytail anymore. However, she couldn't care less right now.  
  
"Morning" she muttered as she practically fell into a chair next to Acire.  
  
"Where have you been?" Acire asked cheery as ever.  
  
"What's it look like?" was Trin's response and she poked her pancakes with a fork.  
  
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Acire laughed.  
  
"No"  
  
Most of the boys ate silently, occasionally chatting a little bit. As if to Trin's luck, Heero was sitting practically across from her. So she kept her eyes down as she nibbled on a piece of her pancake.  
  
"We'll need you to make up a schedule of your classes for us" Heero said suddenly, addressing Acire and Trin "That way we'll know when you'll need to be out of the house"  
  
Acire nodded, but Trin, lost in her thoughts, didn't even notice she was being spoken to.  
  
"Did you hear what I said?" he asked looking directly at her now.  
  
No response.  
  
"Trin?" Acire poked her in the ribs and on reflects Trin's hand shot up and twisted her arm painfully. She cried out, Trin's eyes shot up and realizing what she was doing she released her grip.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't hear you" she apologized averting the shocked gazes she was getting.  
  
"Jeez! Physco, relax for a second will you!" Acire snapped holding her arm.  
  
To her surprise, Trin got up furiously.  
  
"I said I was sorry!" she growled, clear anger in her eyes.  
  
Acire looked up at her, shocked.  
  
"Whoa Trin, chill out. What's up?" she said quietly.  
  
"Nothing" was her angry reply before she grabbed her laptop and walked off.  
  
There was silence at the table as six pairs of eyes stared at the doorway she had disappeared through. Finally, Duo whistled slowly.  
  
* * *  
  
*Flash*  
  
"May I have this dance?".  
  
She looked up and saw Heero's outstretched hand  
  
*Flash*  
  
She put one of her hands on Heero's shoulder and the other one was being held by one of his hands. She put her head down on his other shoulder and they slowly danced.  
  
"I always wanted to tell you…" Heero suddenly said.  
  
*Flash*  
  
A deafening blast filled the night sky. Heero leaned his body against her and she held his back to keep him from falling against her. With one hand still on his back, she brought one of her hands to her face. Her hand was covered in blood.  
  
*Flash*  
  
A deafening blast. Heero's smiling face was an expression of pure pain. She brought one of her hands to her face. Her hand was covered in blood.  
  
*Flash*  
  
Heero's face twisted with pain.  
  
*Flash*  
  
Her hand was covered in blood.  
  
*Flash*  
  
Heero's smiling face. A deafening blast. Blood on her hands.  
  
*Flash*  
  
The images played in her head. She was stuck, unable to get rid of them. Imprisoned in her own head.  
  
She sat on her windowsill leaning against the wall. She stared outside. Before her birds and planes flew through the sky, bees buzzed over the flowers and butterflies danced in the sunlight. But she didn't see any of it. All she saw was blood on her hands.  
  
There was a soft knock on her door, but she didn't hear it. The door opened and Heero walked in. He saw her sitting on the windowsill.  
  
"Trin?"  
  
She didn't seem to hear him. He walked up to her and touched her shoulder.  
  
Her head snapped back and she looked at him. He started, her eyes were wild. She saw him, but in her mind the image was altered. She saw glazed eyes, a face twisted with pain. She saw blood. Dying hands reached for her. She screamed and darted away. She made a run for the door, but he was quicker. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. She shrieked as she saw his dying face. She fought his grasp, but as she looked down she saw blood. All over her hands. She thrashed wildly, but it wouldn't disappear.  
  
"Trin!"  
  
His voice was so horrible. Why wouldn't he leave her alone? His grasp tightened. She felt like she was loosing her mind. It was like she was stuck in a bad horror movie.  
  
"Leave me alone! Let me go!" she heard herself cry out. Was that really her voice? She didn't recognize it at all.  
  
Suddenly his hands reached for her throat. Tighter and tighter they gripped her neck. Squeezing the life out of her. She kicked and screamed but the world faded from her, until finally the blackness swallowed her.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Confusing, ne? Yeah it's two a.m. and I'm sitting at the computer working on this. Well I hope you liked it, 'cause I really liked writing it. Don't ask why, I'm not normal. ^^;; lol Or maybe I just need sleep. Aight I better go before I fall asleep on the computer. And I'll let you go and review ^^ Ja!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Misty~ 


	7. Collateral Damage

Slowly her eyes opened. Her vision was blurry for a few moments and she blinked hard trying to focus her eyes. Finally her vision cleared and she looked around. She was in her room and as far as she could tell she was laying on the bed. Suddenly the ceiling seemed to sway, and in panic, she sat up hastily. Immediately the room spun and sharp pain pierced her brain, she was forced to lean back on her elbows. Her vision came back to normal once again and she saw five worried faces looking at her, watching her every move.  
  
"Trin? Are you okay?"  
  
Who did that voice belong to? It was so familiar. She was certain she heard it before. Ah, yes. Acire.  
  
"I think so..." she replied uncertainly.  
  
A shadow moved to her left and Heero moved forward and stopped next to the bed. She looked at him, but it seemed to the others as if she was looking right through him. Her gaze slipped down and she froze. There were deep, bloody, scratches all over his arms, starting from his shoulders and running down to his hands.  
  
Ignoring the pain in her head she shot up and grabbed his hands. She looked at the scratches in shock, the blood wasn't even dry yet, then her head shot up to look at his face.  
  
"What the hell happened to you?" she breathed. Then her gaze fell on her own hands. They were as scratched up and bloody as Heero's.  
  
"What the hell happened to *me*?" she cried.   
  
He looked at her as if to see if she was lying. She wasn't.  
  
"You don't remember?" he asked then.  
  
"No, remember what?" she asked looking at him as if searching for answers that he somehow had.  
  
He kneeled down so that their faces were on the same level now. She still didn't let go of his arms, and he made no attempt to make her.  
  
He slowly explained what happened. In reality, he didn't try to choke her. Acire and the rest of the boys rushed to the room after they heard her scream. Seeing that Heero was obviously trying to restrain her and was failing miserably, Duo hit her on the head in an attempt to knock her out. As it turns out, it worked. And the scratches, he said she was desperately trying to get away from him. As for her own hands, he said she was repeating something about the blood, and how she had to get rid of it.  
  
She looked at him incredulously as he spoke, occasionally darting glances at the others who nodded affirmatively.  
  
As he finished, she seemed to be in a state of shock again.  
  
"Trin?" Heero asked and she looked up at him. "What happened?" he asked softly.  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"I don't know"  
  
She looked around the room and it seemed the walls were closing in on her. They must have seen the panic in her eyes.  
  
"Okay, you need to get out of the house for a while" Quatre said "it's not good for you to stay in here now"  
  
She raised her head to look at him slowly.  
  
"But I don't have any classes today"  
  
Acire grinned.  
  
"Let's go to the mall" she beamed.  
  
Trin seemed to think about it for a moment, then nodded.  
  
"Okay"  
  
She then looked down at herself and realized she was still dressed in sweatpants and t-shirt. She shook her head.  
  
"I can't go like this. Everybody out, I'm changing"  
  
The room burst into laughter, even Heero cracked a grin. Trin's mind was still too cloudy to pick up on the nervousness and obvious tension between them.  
  
* * *  
  
"We have to be very careful" Quatre said as everyone, except Trin sat around the living room. "We don't know what happened, but whatever we do, we have to be careful not to spook her again"  
  
"The mall was a good idea, Acire" Trowa added.  
  
Acire grinned, still looking somewhat confused and frightened.  
  
"Two of us will come with you" Duo said smiling at her reassuringly.  
  
"Trowa, Wufei, you go" Heero said and by his voice it was obvious this was an order.  
  
Trowa nodded, but Wufei paled.  
  
"I refuse to go to a *Mall*!" he cried jumping to his feet furiously.  
  
"You don't have a choice" Heero's voice was icy cold.  
  
"What's the matter Wufei, you're embarrassed to be seen with two *onnas*" came Trin's voice. Along with her usual sarcastic tone, it had a hint of darkness in it. Everyone turned to see her standing in the doorway dressed in jeans, a black tank-top and sneakers.  
  
Wufei glared at her and everyone excluding Heero and Trin laughed. Acire skipped merrily up to Trin and hooked her arm around hers.  
  
"Come on, we're gonna have so much fun" she grinned pulling her out the door.  
  
"Hn" was Trin's response, so typical to Heero's, the room erupted with laughter  
  
again. But this time it was honest laughter.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin, Acire, Trowa and Wufei walked into the garage and stopped in front of a black Honda. Trin wrinkled her nose in distaste and Wufei glared at her.  
  
"Not good enough for you onna?" he growled.  
  
Trin smirked and pulled open the door, "accidentally" hitting Wufei in the stomach and lower. He grunted and she faked a look of surprise.  
  
"Oops. How did that happen?" she said and jumped into the car.  
  
Acire was almost rolling on the ground laughing and Trowa grinned. Still glaring Wufei got into the drivers seat.  
  
* * *  
  
"Let's see, I need some new skirts, shirts, pants, shoes, stage clothes.." Trinity made a list and the more she said the more Trowa's eyes widened and the more Wufei shook his head and muttered `onnas..' or something else along those lines. They were ordered to pay for whatever the girls bought and frankly, Trowa was nearing a heart failure.  
  
Trin and Acire dived into the nearly every store they saw and Trowa and Wufei had trouble following them. They bought everything from clothes to CDs and from jewelry to magazines.  
  
In the middle of the mall was a beautiful fountain, surrounded by plants and flowers. Around it were stationed benches for the shoppers to sit and rest. After about two hours of non-stop shopping, the four stopped at one of the benches. Wufei and Trowa were more than glad to dump all the bags that were overweighing them to the ground and Acire giggled. Trowa suggested that they should put all the bags into the car and Wufei volunteered.  
  
* * *  
  
Muttering curses in Japanese, Wufei slammed the Honda's trunk shut and with a sigh headed back toward the mall. It was getting dark, but he still saw a suspicious-looking black van parked in front of one of the emergency exits.  
  
*Flash*  
  
Acire ran up to him and Trowa and held up two outfits asking which one they thought would look better on her. Wufei's eyes trailed over her shoulder and he saw a man dressed mostly in black and wearing dark sunglasses. He was casually leaning against a wall and rapidly talking into his cell phone.  
  
*Flash*  
  
They walked through the mall as a man roughly brushed between Trin and Acire. He muttered a "Sorry" and walked in the opposite direction from them.  
  
*Flash*  
  
Trin and Acire sat on the bench near the fountain and he and Trowa stood in front of them. His eyes wondered and he saw light glint over something. As he looked closer he saw a man fussing with something near the decorative rocks on the opposite side of the fountain.  
  
*Flash*  
  
His head snapped back to where the black van was parked and he saw three shadows run out of the emergency exit and jump inside. Wufei cursed sharply and ran into the mall. Pushing people aside he ran toward the fountain. He saw Trin, Acire and Trowa where he had left them.  
  
He ran up to them and roughly grabbed Acire's arm yanking her to her feet. Trowa looked at him as if he was out of his mind.  
  
"No time to explain. We have to get out of here *now*" Wufei barked and Trowa nodded. He didn't need an explanation, he trusted his fellow gundam pilot.  
  
Trin also jumped to her feet. She might've not liked Wufei, and she knew he wasn't especially fond of her, but when it came down to her life, she trusted him. They ran through the mass of people, Wufei in the front pushing people out of the way, Trin and Acire behind him and Trowa behind them.  
  
To Trin, it seemed as if the mall was a lot bigger than it was when they got there and she thought that any minute they would drown in the sea of people. But just as she thought that she saw the exit and in seconds they were out.  
  
The second they stepped out of the door, there was a deafening blast, the ground shook and the next thing she knew they hit the sidewalk. As she rolled over onto her back, she saw a series of explosions erupt through the walls and roof of the mall. Her ears rung from the explosion and debris showered down on them. Flames engulfed the collapsing building. She saw the walls cave in and block the exit.  
  
Suddenly Wufei appeared out of nowhere and hauled her to her feet, pulling her away.  
  
"It's dangerous, let's go!" he shouted.  
  
Trin's senses suddenly rushed back to her. Screams for help flooded her ears.  
  
"No" she cried.  
  
"Onna, lets go!" Wufei growled.  
  
"No, we have to help those people!" she yelled back and yanking her arm out of his grasp ran into the flames.  
  
A/N: Sorry for taking so long with this chapter but I worked really hard on it and hope you liked it. Also thank you SO MUCH for reviewing! This is the closest I've ever been to 100 reviews! I can't tell you how much this means to me! Arigatou!  
  
Aight, do you think I'm overdoing it with the *Flash*s? Because if I am, tell me. I don't want to ruin the fic lol ^^ And also, by a popular demand, I'll remember to put translations in here for all the Japanese words I use.  
  
Okay, I think that's all. Ja!!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Misty~  
  
TRANSLATIONS:  
  
Omae o korosu - I will hurt/kill you  
  
Onna - woman 


	8. Unleashed

Running through the flames, she had split into two. A part of her was screaming at her, asking what in the world was she doing. That was the part that heard Wufei shouting after her to come back. But the other part of her, the stronger part, knew that she had to help those people. That she couldn't let them burn alive because of her.  
  
She dove under a collapsed beam and discovered a sort of tunnel that surprisingly led right to the collapsing exit. Trin crawled through, wire and debris cut through her skin, but she paid no attention to it. At the end of the tunnel were large pieces of the wall, blocking the people from getting out. She pulled at the first piece with the strength she didn't know she had. The stone was hot as fire and she felt like the skin on her hands was burning off. It finally moved and she dragged it aside. She pulled at the other piece. The screams of people were louder now; she could hear their voices clearly. Men, women and children. All trapped. But she was close now. She was so close to setting them free.  
  
Suddenly there was an explosion. Trin was thrown to the ground hard. She saw the parts of the walls that were still standing collapse on the people; crushing them.  
  
"No!" she screamed "No!"  
  
But the walls fell and she was left surrounded by death and fire. Suddenly someone grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back just as remains of the ceiling fell onto the spot where she was just seconds ago.  
  
That same person swung her over his shoulder and ran. She looked down to see that it was Trowa. He ran swiftly dodging fire and debris and in seconds they were out of the burning remains of the mall. Trin saw fire trucks, police and news vans driving up and parking a safe distance away. Firemen gathered their equipment as fast as they could and the policemen did their best to keep away the mass of reporters that were running to the scene. A van screeched to a stop in front of them and it's door swung open, Trin saw that Quatre was at the wheel. Trowa roughly put her in the back and jumped into the passenger seat.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin stepped out of the van and was guided by Trowa on one side and Quatre on the other to the house. They went through the now familiar procedure of identity check was stepped inside. She was then taken through the many hallways into the living room. Duo was reviving Acire who was on the couch unconscious. Heero was speaking to someone on the phone and Wufei stood near the wall, his arms folded. The muted TV showed images of the mall. The scene changed and it showed a faint picture of a girl running into the fire. The scene changed again and this time it showed a man and a reporter. Trin read their lips faintly. According to them the previous footage was shot by this man; who was near the mall when the explosion happened.  
  
Duo and Wufei then looked up to see Trin enter with Trowa and Quatre, Heero hung up the phone. Wufei swiftly walked over to her, fury written all over his face.  
  
"What the hell do you think you were doing?" he screamed "Do you *want* to die?"  
  
Trin was silent then she looked up at him, fire in her eyes.  
  
"I was doing what was right!" she growled "And I don't care if I do die, at least I'll know I wasn't afraid to risk my own life for someone else's!"  
  
"Don't forget whom you're speaking to, onna!" Wufei snarled and in a moment of insanity his hand connected with Trin's face. Her head snapped to the side. When she turned back, her eyes were burning with more rage than ever. In a split second her fist connected with Wufei's jaw. He staggered back, his jaw detached and his lip bleeding. Trin whirled around and left the room pushing past Trowa and Quatre who made no attempt to stop her.  
  
The room was silent. Heero walked up to Wufei and before he knew what was happening Wufei was on the floor in more pain then he ever remembered being in.  
  
"Where's your sense of honor now?" Heero looked at him coldly and walked out of the room.   
  
* * *  
  
Trin sat on the cold floor of the hallway, leaning against an equally cold wall. Her face stung and she could taste blood in her mouth. She heard footsteps and stiffened. If it was Wufei he was going to be sorry.  
  
To her surprise Heero walked around the corner and seeing her, sat down next to her. She turned her head so that he couldn't see her face. Despite that she was trying to save innocent lives, she knew she put all their lives in danger.  
  
"Forget Wufei" Heero suddenly spoke up.  
  
Trin's eyes widened. She expected him to be furious with her. Maybe to even hate her. At the thought, she felt pain in her heart just like she had that night after the dream. Deep inside she knew she cared for him, but she refused to believe it.  
  
"I know I put your lives in danger" Trin said, her voice scratchy.  
  
"Listen to me, I want to tell you something I never told anyone" Heero interrupted.  
  
Slowly and painfully he told her about his first mission. He didn't leave anything out. He told her about everything, even about that little girl and her dog that he killed.  
  
"I don't blame you for what you did. I would have done the same thing, this time around" he added when he finished.  
  
Trin slowly raised her head and looked at him. His face was emotionless as always but his eyes were different. She saw pain and her heart hurt more. Suddenly allowing herself to be sympathetic, she gently wrapped her arms around him. His body stiffened, but then relaxed. Her own pain melted as she hugged him.  
  
Many emotions and thoughts ran through Heero as she embraced him. He didn't exactly know what the feeling was. He hadn't felt anything like it in a long time, if ever. But he knew one thing, when he heard of what happened at the mall, his heart ached at the possibility of Trin being dead. For the first time in his life he was frightened; he might have been becoming more human.  
  
As Trin slowly pulled away, he looked at her. A purple bruise was already spreading from her chin and over her cheek. Her lip was bloody and slightly swollen. Her clothes were torn and bloody. Her arms and legs had cuts and bruises all over them. She winced as he touched her cheek.  
  
"You need medical attention" he said.  
  
She nodded slowly, accepting his help. A first time she ever let anyone help her.  
  
* * *  
  
"Fools!"  
  
The three men cowered as a glass hit the wall over their heads sending bits of crystal showering on them and red whine trickled down the wall.  
  
"I've told you to bring them *alive*!"  
  
"But sir-" one of them interrupted. A brave, but stupid gesture.  
  
"And to kill their protectors!" the shadow finished furiously. "You know how many casualties you've caused? An entire investigation will be opened! We need to move fast now!"  
  
"I'm sorry sir. It will not happen again" the man retorted bowing slightly.  
  
"You're right, it won't" the shadow snapped. Three gunshots echoed through the room; staining the wall with blood.  
  
The person threw the gun onto the table and turned in his chair to face the computer.  
  
"At least those imbeciles did one thing right" he sneered.  
  
A/N: Hello! Gomen it took me so long to write this chapter, but I've been  
  
*really* busy. I *promise* the next chapter will be out much sooner since I don't have school today or Monday.  
  
Which brings me to an announcement I have to make. Deathscythe Chick is no longer a part of this fic. But don't worry, it was 99% my work and ideas from the beginning, not to be conceited or anything. ^^;; Oh yeah, and if you read her review don't believe a word she says. I cant believe I have to defend myself, but trust me, it's my work. I would *NEVER* take credit for someone else's writing.  
  
Oh by the way! I have a new Gundam Wing fanfic posted. It's called "Silent Assassin" so if you want check it out ^^ Well I hope you liked this chapter and please review!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Misty~ 


	9. 3 A.M.

Acire opened her eyes and saw Duo sitting on a chair next to her bed. She smelled medicine and wrinkled her nose in disgust.  
  
"Duo?" she asked groggily, sitting up.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked gently while helping her up.  
  
"What happened? Is Trin okay?"  
  
"Yeah, she's fine" he replied and then briefly told her of what happened.  
  
"Wow" Acire breathed, her eyes wide. "I've seen Trin do some crazy things, but this..."  
  
Duo laughed. "I bet. Her and Heero would probably make a perfect couple"  
  
Despite herself, Acire grinned.  
  
"Probably. But Trin is too stubborn"  
  
"Heero too" Duo nodded.  
  
There was silence for a moment, then Duo stood up.  
  
"Well I better go. You should get some sleep" he said.  
  
Acire nodded and as Duo turned, stood up.  
  
"Duo?"  
  
He turned around and she kissed him on the cheek.  
  
"Goodnight"  
  
* * *  
  
"Ouch" Trin complained as Heero dabbed a cloth soaked with rubbing alcohol at the scratches on her arms.  
  
"Sorry" he replied in his usual monotone, however not changing what he was doing.  
  
Trin was sitting on the bed in his room as he treated her cuts. As he finished with her arms she reached down to roll up her jeans but seeing how torn they were, changed her mind. Grabbing a hole just below her hip, she tore at the fabric and easily tore off the entire jean leg. Then she proceeded with doing the same thing on her other leg and soon her jeans turned into short shorts. She tossed the fabric aside and looked up to see Heero watching her.  
  
"What?" she laughed.  
  
"Nothing" he said, shaking his head.  
  
Trin lifted her right leg onto the bed and noticed there was a large piece of glass implanted just below her knee. She wondered how she didn't notice it before.  
  
Heero carefully dabbed the cut with the cloth and then without warning yanked the glass out. Trin bit down on her lip to muffle a cry, but forgetting that her lip was swollen she succeeded in hurting herself more. Mentally kicking herself, she turned away as he bandaged the wound. Her gaze fell on a photograph on his desk near the bed. She reached over and grabbed it. In the picture was a slim brunette dressed in a pink business suit.  
  
"Isn't this Vice Foreign Minister Miss Relena Peacecraft?" she asked turning back to Heero.  
  
He looked up briefly to see what she was looking at, then turned his attention back to bandaging her leg.  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"How did you know her?" she proceeded, not realizing she was prying him for information.  
  
It seemed like he didn't hear her and just when she was about to repeat the question he answered.  
  
"I was her bodyguard"  
  
By the way he said it Trin knew he wasn't telling her the entire truth, but this time she didn't pry. She was still amazed Heero was starting to actually *talk* to her. When she first met him - was that really just a few days ago? - he wouldn't say more than two words, but now he even told her about his first mission. She couldn't believe that he entrusted *her* with something that she felt was very personal to him.  
  
Her gaze softened as she realized she must have stepped into a sensitive area.  
  
"Heero, I'm sorry" she said "it's was so tragic when she died a year ago"  
  
He didn't answer and she put the picture back where she found it. Looking back at Heero she noticed he was looking at her top carefully, as if studying it. She raised an eyebrow, but he paid no attention to her. He reached over and moved her hair aside, then pulled something from her top. She looked at his hand curiously and saw that he was holding a small computer-chip-like device.  
  
"A bug?" she whispered.  
  
"A tracker" he answered.  
  
At that moment Trin hated herself. She couldn't believe she was stupid enough not to check for one after that suspicious man brushed between her and Acire at the mall.  
  
"This base has a shield around it that prevents any tracking signals from going through" he said "The best they could do is track you to this street, but you've seen for yourself how the base looks on the outside. It will take them months to track you down"  
  
Trin smiled, silently thanking whoever built this place.  
  
"But listen," he spoke again "Now that we know what they're willing to do to get to you, we should look at things differently. For one reason or another, one of us might not be with you when they attack. You need to know how to defend yourself"  
  
He held up his hand to silence her as she opened her mouth to speak.  
  
"I know you can fight, but you need to be better. Especially since Acire is not much of a fighter" he continued and she listened intently "What I'm saying is, I'll train you"  
  
Trin looked at him incredulously. Was he serious?  
  
"I'm serious" Heero said, as if reading her mind.  
  
"Okay" she nodded.  
  
Then her eyes fell on the clock on his desk. It was three a.m., no wonder she was tired. She covered a yawn and stood up  
  
"I should go to bed" she said.  
  
Heero nodded and stood up as well. Silently they walked through the halls to her room. She opened the door and stepped inside.  
  
"You'll be okay?" Heero asked, remembering the incident that morning.  
  
"Yeah" Trin nodded. "Goodnight"  
  
"Goodnight" he replied and she softly shut the door.  
  
Heero walked back to his room. On the way he passed Duo's room; his door was open. The braided pilot was laying on his bed with his head hanging upside down off the edge. Seeing Heero he grinned.  
  
"How's it going, Romeo?"  
  
Heero stopped and glared at him.  
  
"Hn"  
  
Duo laughed and in the process fell off the bed. Heero smirked.  
  
"Trin and I" he paused. "are just friends"  
  
With that he turned and left, leaving the braided baka on the floor; still laughing.  
  
Were they just friends? Why had he told her about his first mission? *For the same reason you allowed her inside your room,* said a voice inside his head. The same voice that had guided him through hundreds of battles. The voice he had learned to trust.  
  
* * *  
  
Wufei stood in front of the mirror inside the bathroom connected to his room. The lights weren't turned on and room was dark. He placed a hand on his jaw and swiftly wedged it back in its place. His face twisted as excruciating pain erupted through the bone. He moved his jaw slowly to make sure it was set right and then stepped out of the bathroom. The girl had a good solid punch.  
  
He walked toward his bed pulling off his shirt in the process. It felt as if his bones were on fire. He suspected Heero broke a couple of his ribs. `What was Yuy thinking?' he thought.  
  
He knew he shouldn't have laid a hand on her, some of his honor was lost there. Wufei grunted. But Jesus, she was one disrespectful onna.  
  
A/N: Well what do you think? I told you think chapter was going to be out soon ^^ Too much fluff, ne? Yeah I did my best there. I know I've asked this before but, is Heero really that OCC?! Because I got reviews saying he was sweet and such and I panicked. ::runs around the room panicking::  
  
^^;;;;; ::SWEATDROPPS:" Before I forget, I'll be changing my author name from Misty to Arion, so don't get confused. lol I think that's it, please review! Ja!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Arion~  
  
TRANSLATIONS:  
  
Baka - idiot 


	10. Snacks Can Be Dangerous In the Wrong Han...

That morning Trin yet again woke up extremely early. Which was strange since she was very tired from the night before. She got out of bed leisurely, her entire body hurting. She slowly made her way to the bathroom and brushed her teeth trying hard not to look in the mirror. She really didn't want to see her face. Then back in her room, she changed into a pair of shorts and a loose fitting shirt, simply because anything else hurt her bruised and burnt skin. Finally she ran a hairbrush through her hair and left the room.  
  
At first she thought no one else was up yet, but as she walked into the living room she saw Quatre in the kitchen making breakfast.  
  
"Do you need any help?" she asked timidly as she stood in the doorway. She knew Quatre was the most calm and rational one of the pilots, but she still wasn't sure if he was also furious with her about last night.  
  
The blond pilot turned and smiled at her. She returned the smile with relief.  
  
"Sure" he said.  
  
* * *  
  
In about an hour Duo and Trowa walked into the living room. Duo stretched and fell onto the couch turning on the mourning cartoons. Trowa opened the newspaper. Then Acire entered and joined Duo in front of the TV and lastly came Heero with his laptop.  
  
Trin stood next to Quatre in the kitchen. She was mixing dough for pancakes in a bowl and wore a pink apron. Her hands were covered in flour and she had some on her face as well.  
  
As he finished with the salad, Quatre took the bowl from her and showed her how to put the dough onto the pan. She nodded and proceeded as he told her.  
  
During a commercial break Duo and Acire wandered into the kitchen. Duo stretched out his hand trying to steal some of the newly made pancakes, but Trin slapped it away with the spoon.  
  
"Wait until breakfast" she said moving the plate away from him.  
  
"Please, just one teeny, tiny, pancake?" Duo whined.  
  
"No" she answered firmly.  
  
"Well can we help cook?" Acire asked looking hopeful, and Duo nodded eagerly.  
  
Trin and Quatre paled in unison.  
  
"NO!!!" they yelled. Trowa and Heero looked up, surprised; it was very rarely that Quatre yelled. And when he did, he had a good reason too. They saw Trin pushing the Deathscythe pilot and Acire out of the kitchen, telling them that no, they couldn't help as they whined more.  
  
"You shouldn't be cooking anyway!" Acire pouted "Weren't you the one who almost burned the house down making cookies?!"  
  
Trin blushed.  
  
"I was *seven*!" she yelled.  
  
"Yeah, but I bet you're cooking skills hadn't changed" Acire snorted.  
  
"I got an A+ in Home Ec., thank you" Trin snarled, folding her arms.  
  
"Yeah, and you had Mrs. Simms who's old as hell and can't taste any of the food students make because she has no teeth!" Acire screamed.  
  
"You are *so lucky* I'm too sore to hurt you right now!!" Trin shrieked.  
  
"Oh yeah? What have you been doing last night?" Acire smirked.  
  
Trin's mouth dropped open at the loss of words. Duo snickered and high- fived Acire.  
  
"That's it! I don't care if I hurt myself but *I *am* gonna hurt both of you*!!!" Trin hollered and started toward the laughing pair; but as she attempted running, something in her knee cracked and she was forced to stop. Sending a final death glare at them, she whirled and went back into the kitchen; cursing everything and anything under her breath. Duo and Acire collapsed on the floor laughing yet again as everyone in the room gave them blank stares.  
  
"By the way Trin, you made the front page" Trowa said matter-of-factly as he folded the newspaper.  
  
"What?!"  
  
They heard something break in the kitchen and Trin ran – well, more like limped really fast- out of the kitchen, a covered with flour Quatre following her. She grabbed the newspaper out of Trowa's hands and stared wide eyed at the front page that stated boldly "Mysterious Girl Attempts to Save Victims of Terrorist Bomb".  
  
Cursing the reporters she quickly scanned through the article and sighed with relief as she read that the police were not yet able to identify 'mysterious girl'.  
  
"You think they'll be able to find out it was me?" she asked and Heero shook his head not looking up from his laptop.  
  
"Not a chance"  
  
She looked over his shoulder curiously and saw that he was in the police database erasing any information they had on the case.  
  
"Come everyone, breakfast is ready" Quatre called who went back into the kitchen as Trin was reading the article.  
  
With a loud cry of "BREAKFAST!" Duo raced into the kitchen, followed closely by Acire and nearly knocking everyone else off their feet.  
  
As they sat around the table, Wufei walked into the room and without a word pulled out a chair and sat down. Trin didn't give him as much as a glance and as she noticed, neither did Heero. She didn't know what exactly happened in the room when she stormed out last night, but she suspected something had happened between Heero and Wufei. From the very beginning she noticed that they had been the ones that got along the worst out of all the pilots, but she had a feeling something else happened.  
  
"I found a tracker last night" Heero stated suddenly breaking the silence.  
  
The rest of the boys stared at him and Trin tried hard not to laugh as she saw the expressions on Quatre and Duo's faces.  
  
"That weird man at the mall stuck it to my shirt" Trin explained and as Acire opened her mouth for another comment gave her an if-you-value-your- life,-don't-you-dare glare.  
  
Trowa nodded thoughtfully.  
  
"Good thing this place is protected" he said "we should go outside as little as possible"  
  
There was silence as everyone went back to eating.  
  
Wufei finished first and left to train, everyone else finished soon after. Duo and Acire wandered off somewhere. Trin opted for a second cup of coffee, but before she could drink, Heero stopped her, swiftly removing the cup from her hand. He dumped it in the sink as she sputtered in protest.  
  
"I was *drinking* that!" she exclaimed indignantly.  
  
"Hn." a typical response. If he kept it up, Trin figured he would need a solid beating. "You need to train. You can't rely on caffeine for everything."  
  
"So?" she asked. "It helps!"  
  
"Deal with it."  
  
"You're... you're..." she stormed around the kitchen, searching for a bad enough word for him. "MILK TOAST!" she exclaimed.  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow. "'Milk toast'?" he asked, and Trin could swear that he was laughing at her mentally.  
  
"You suck," she muttered.  
  
"That's intelligent," he deadpanned. "Really, it is."  
  
"You're making fun of me," Trin accused.  
  
Heero turned his back to her as he stuck the coffee cup into the dishwasher. "I'm not."  
  
"You *are*. And since when does the perfect soldier do the dishes?" she asked mockingly.  
  
The use of the name struck a nerve in him. "Don't call me that," he said.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Just... don't." She shrugged, and Heero added, "let's get started." he walked quickly out of the kitchen, and Trin followed.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hit this." Heero led Trin over to a huge punching bag that was set up in the corner of the gym. Trin's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.  
  
"You're kidding, right? RIGHT?!" Without answering, he walked over, stood behind it, and repeated his first order.  
  
"Hit it. I saw what you did to Wufei's jaw."  
  
"Yeah, and I saw what you did to his ribs! I'll break my hand on that!"  
  
"No, you won't," he said.  
  
"You ever heard of Hinesburg's uncertainty principle?" she replied.  
  
"Yes. Just hit it." Heero was starting to get that dangerous glazed-over look in his eyes, and Trin got the feeling that she had better comply.  
  
To make herself feel better, she joked, "Remember Wufei's jaw."  
  
With that she took her fighting stance and prepared to punch. She sent out her arm, but then changed her mind in the middle and instead of hitting it full force; tapped it lightly.  
  
Heero glared at her.  
  
"Aw, fine, fine" she muttered and this time followed through with the punch. Her hand stung, but no more than it usually would. The enormous punching bag moved no more that a few centimeters.  
  
Heero nodded slowly and walked around to take her place.  
  
"Watch"  
  
He stood for a moment in his fighting stance and then unleashed a swift punch. The punching bag swayed wildly. Trin blinked.  
  
"You're stronger than me," she pouted.  
  
"Don't make excuses" he snapped icily and she winced.  
  
* * *  
  
"Okay now, grab me into a headlock from the back" Heero instructed three grueling hours later.  
  
Trin nodded and stepped a few steps back as he turned around. Deciding to improvise, instead of a headlock, she jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
The next thing she knew she was on her back on the floor, breath knocked out of her.  
  
"You could've warned me" she snapped as she tried to catch her breath.  
  
"What would the point be then?" he relied calmly and grabbing her arm, pulled her to her feet. "We're done for today"  
  
Trin nodded and they both walked out of the gym side by side. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, there was a loud boom and the ground shook slightly. Heero immediately took off in the direction of the noise and Trin followed him.  
  
As they ran into the living room the other door swung open and Trowa, Quatre and Wufei ran in. Acire soon joined them. The room was full of smoke, which was mainly coming from the kitchen. As some of the smoke cleared, they saw a very black and charred Duo standing in the middle of the kitchen. He coughed and a small black cloud of smoke came out of his mouth.  
  
"Maxwell what the hell did you do?" Wufei growled.  
  
Duo smiled sheepishly and fanned the air in from of his face.  
  
"I was just making a snack" he said innocently.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey Hee-man!" Duo chirped cheerfully as if it wasn't he who just blew up half of the kitchen. He had a cloth in his hand with which he attempting to rub off the layers of ash that covered him. He was partially succeeding.  
  
Heero looked up momentarily, long enough to glare at him and turned his attention back to his laptop.  
  
"Q-man told me to go out to eat and take the girls. Something about not wanting me around the house to destroy something else" he shrugged. "Anyway, since there's two of them and Q-man's fixing the kitchen with Trowa and Wu-man went off somewhere, you're coming along"  
  
Heero grunted a much unwanted affirmative and after telling him that they were leaving in half an hour, Duo skipped off down the hall.  
  
* * *  
  
Acire knocked on Trin's door and as she yelled for 'whoever it was to come in', did. Trin was sitting on her bed brushing her hair. She wore a spaghetti-strapped top, flip-flops and a long jean skirt. Pants unbelievably hurt her skin and she was too embarrassed to wear shorts. As she looked up and saw Acire, the hairbrush fell to the floor. Acire stood before her wearing a short black skirt, white tank top and black strappy sandals. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and she had a silver necklace around her neck.  
  
Acire raised an eyebrow as Trin gaped at her.  
  
"What?" she asked looking down at herself.  
  
"Um, Acire"  
  
"By the way, Heero's coming" she added slyly and was disappointed when Trin didn't react to the news.  
  
"Acire, this isn't a date you know" Trin finally forced out.  
  
"Whatever you say" Acire smiled and walked out of the room. Trin shook her head and followed her.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Hey! I am so sorry I didn't update for so long! I had my karate test Friday and I'm finding out if I passed and getting my belt today. I've been nervous out of my mind and sore beyond belief, so if this chapter is a little out of it, that's why ^^;;;; Also, A HUGE ARIGATOU TO DEMON FAERIE AERYKA WHO HELPED ME, CUZ I WAS EXTREMELLY STUCK ON THIS CHAPTER!!! THANKS AGAIN!!!!!!  
  
By the way, I'm working on ANOTHER Gundam Wing fic! I might call it "Double Vision", but I'm not sure yet. The first chapter will be out soon. Annnddd a first post under this name!! Yay!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Arion~ 


	11. Mixed Emotions

Acire and Trin walked into the garage where they were supposed to meet the boys at exactly seven. Duo and Heero were already there, both of them leaning on a black RX-7 Mazda convertible. As Trin predicted, both were dressed casually. Heero wore a black sleeveless shirt and jeans and Duo also wore jeans, a white sleeveless shirt and a matching jean jacket. His jaw dropped as he saw Acire and she in turn blushed. Trin rolled her eyes and inspected the car.  
  
"Well aren't we the classy gentlemen" she grinned.  
  
"Hn" was Heero's simple response and Trin realized she was really starting to hate that syllable.  
  
Duo didn't respond for the reason that he was still staring at Acire who smiled at him shyly. They seemed to be locked in some sort of trance and snapped out only when Heero revved the engine impatiently. Duo turned startled to see Heero sitting behind the wheel with Trin the front next to him.  
  
"Are you coming or do you plan to stand here all night with your mouth open?" Trin asked as she leaned on the edge of the door.  
  
Both blushed and Acire glared at her furiously, nevertheless they got in the car.  
  
"Hey, I wanted to drive" Duo whined as Heero sped out of the garage. The tires screeched at a turn and the brown haired pilot was thrown against the door.  
  
"Put your seatbelt on" Heero said monotonously as he sped around another corner. Grumbling something under his breath, Duo complied.  
  
Trin noticed they were going down the street that her and Acire's school was on. Soon the school grounds started and the huge main building came into view. Even though it was the middle of the summer and school was out, the school was swamped with teenagers. It was one of the most popular social spots during the summer.  
  
As they kept going, they were spotted by the girls' friends and classmates. Trin and Acire waved left and right, yelling countless "Hey!"s and "What's up!"s. Both of them laughed, especially when they passed a group of popular girls who gave the pilots sluttish looks and were obviously jealous of the Trin and Acire.  
  
Trin's cell phone rang and she dug it out of her purse hurriedly.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Hey!!" the girlish voice on the other line squealed.  
  
"Emily, hey" Trin grinned and Acire pocked her in the back from the backseat and told her to say 'hi' for her as well. "Acire says hi"  
  
"Who's the hot guy you hanging with?" was the next thing the girl asked. Before Trin could answer there was static and she guessed the phone was wrestled away.  
  
"Did you get a boyfriend and not tell us?"  
  
Fiana. Figures.  
  
"No" she answered flatly.  
  
"Uh huh, sure" the girl replied sarcastically.  
  
"Fiana, come on, you know me better than that" Trin tried, but she knew there was no way in convincing that girl that Heero Yuy was not her boyfriend. There was static again and Emily's voice reappeared.  
  
"Is he single?" she asked eagerly and Trin frowned.  
  
"And I'm paying for this?" she grumbled to herself as the girl talked non- stop in her ear.  
  
Luckily for her, they had pulled up into the parking lot of the restaurant they were having dinner at. It was a obviously a Japanese restaurant, the building built to resemble the ancient Japanese structures.  
  
"Emily, Fiana, I gotta go" she said sounding all too gladly "I'll call you guys later"  
  
The girls mumbled their goodbyes and she hung up. Shoving the phone back in her purse she got out of the car just as Duo courteously pulled open the door for Acire and offered her his elbow as she got out. Smiling, she took it and he escorted her onto the restaurant.  
  
"This is *not* a date" Trin mumbled to herself as she walked toward the restaurant with Heero following her. About halfway through the parking lot he caught up with her and silently placed her hand on his elbow. Despite herself, she smiled at him. But as they walked, repeated to herself mentally that this was not a date.  
  
* * *  
  
They had ordered their food and were now talking. They were seated at a table near the window with a nice view of the forest. The restaurant itself was beautifully decorated and it felt as if they were in Japan.  
  
Duo waited a full minute after they had ordered before he started complaining that their food was taking too long.  
  
"That's it. I'll go make the food myself if I have to" he finally stated. Trin and Acire paled at the thought and as he got up Heero grabbed his collar and shoved him back in his seat. Duo protested and accidentally tripped a waiter that was passing them with a large tray of food balanced in his hands. The waiter gasped and stumbled forward. The tray overturned and a plate of ice cream fell to the floor splashing it's contents onto an old man at a table nearby, and a bowl of noodles landed in an old lady's lap. She in turn jumped to her feet, surprisingly fast for her age, and sent another waiter flying.  
  
As that pattern continued, Duo pretended he had nothing to do with the chaos happening. Heero glared at him and Trin and Acire laughed so hard they thought their sides were going to split.  
  
Finally as everything settled down and the waiters cleaned up and handed out the coupons in apology to the customers, their food was delivered.  
  
The young Japanese waiter smiled at Trin as he placed the plate of food in front of her and she smiled back at him.  
  
"Arigatou" she said.  
  
"You speak Japanese?" he asked, his voice had a slight accent.  
  
"Hardly, but I'd love to learn" she laughed.  
  
He was about to say something else but caught the icy glare the brown haired boy was giving him, and quickly retreated.  
  
Heero watched Trin as she animatedly talked about something to Acire and Duo, waving her chopsticks around in the air as she gestured. She reminded him of Relena, he realized. It was strange, she looked and acted nothing like her, yet she reminded him of her so much. Her hair for example. It wasn't the same shade of brown as Relena's, but it reminded him of her. He remembered meeting other girls during the missions in the past year that reminded him of Relena, but every time the memories were painful. He scowled. He hated that he had let her get so close to him that now that she was gone it hurt. He swore that he would never let anyone get close to him after that. But that feeling he had when he was around her or thought about her, wouldn't disappear. It wasn't what he had felt for Relena, but was something just as unfamiliar.  
  
Shaking the thoughts out of his head he picked up his chopsticks and ate slowly. He noticed Trin was finished her conversation with Acire and Duo. The two were now involved in a heated discussion on why the word "abbreviation" was so long when it was meant to make words shorter. Intelligent, nothing to say about that.  
  
* * *  
  
The fortune cookies were placed in front of them and Heero paid the bill. Duo and Acire grabbed onto the same cookie and neither would let go. Trin attempted to convince them that there was absolutely no difference in which cookie they got, but naturally the two didn't listen. She sighed in exasperation and grabbed a cookie for herself as did Heero. She opened hers and read the fortune.  
  
'If u can't go up or down go across' it stated. Trin blinked. That was the stupidest one yet, and she had gotten some idiotic ones before.  
  
She looked over at what Heero got and snickered.  
  
'Your lovely attitude will soon be rewarded'  
  
He stood up and she followed, as did Duo and Acire who were still fighting over the cookie.  
  
The drive home wasn't long and pretty much silent except for Acire and Duo bickering over the fortune cookie in the backseat.  
  
However, when they pulled into the garage Duo again pulled open the door for Acire. Muttering a "goodnight" Trin quickly walked into the building and so did Heero.  
  
Duo lingered back with Acire and when she was about to go grabbed her arm to stop her. She looked at him confused and he smiled at her. That smile was enough to make her melt, but he didn't stop there. He quickly leaned in and kissed her on the lips.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin lay awake in her bed staring up at the ceiling. It must have been one or two in the morning and she couldn't get back to sleep. Finally getting tired of it, she threw the covers off and getting up, headed to the kitchen.  
  
As she walked into the darkened room she saw Heero sitting at the kitchen table; an almost empty bottle of vodka next to him. She watched in shock as he took a long swig of the liquid.  
  
"Heero?" she asked softly, her voice shook. He didn't reply and she stepped closer to him. He looked up at her; his eyes were strange. Still cold and emotionless, but somehow different.  
  
"Heero, what are you doing?"  
  
He didn't seem to hear or understand her. And as he reached again for the bottle she took it away and threw it in the trash. He sat unmoving and stared blankly at the table. She walked back to him and gingerly placed her hand on his arm. When he didn't respond, she gently pulled him to his feet and slowly guided him to the door. Noticing how he was slightly unsteady, she moved closer to him so that some of his weight was leaning on her.  
  
If asked, she wouldn't be able to describe what she was feeling at the moment. She was extremely worried about Heero, he had seemed fine at dinner, so why had he been drinking to the point when he was almost passed out from the alcohol? But at the same time, she liked the feeling of helping him; knowing that he relied on her. Not consciously of course, he was barely awake. But she was happy to be near him either way. Except for offering her his elbow that evening, he was exceedingly distant since that night when he told her about his first mission. She could tell he didn't like people being too close to him and she was beginning to think that she made a huge mistake hugging him. But he looked like he was in so much pain, she recalled, as if justifying herself.  
  
By then they had reached his room. Trin pushed open the door and led him in. Not bothering to turn on the light she guided him to the bed and he was out the second he hit the mattress. Picking up a blanked she pulled it over him and then sat down on the floor, putting her head on her elbows on the edge of the bed and watched him. His chest moved up and down as he breathed. He looked peaceful in a way, but she knew it was just a illusion.  
  
She meant to leave when he was asleep, she really did. But the longer she stayed, the heavier her arms and legs got, and finally she fell asleep on the edge of the bed, next to the past out Wing Zero pilot.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Geez it's 1:00 am, I got school tomorrow, and what am I doing? Writing this!! lol well I hope you liked it ^^ I'll just wrap up quickly, I need the sleep. You know the drill, please review. Oh yeah, and yes! I got my 1st brown belt in karate! I'll test for black in about a year! Okay, goodnight ^^;  
  
Luv  
  
~Arion~ 


	12. Heart to Heart

Heero opened his eyes slowly, looking up at the ceiling. Immediately he became aware of the dull pain in his head. He rubbed his eyes slowly; not remembering much of last night, except going into the kitchen and drinking. He must have overdone it, because he had a bad hang over.  
  
Deciding he needed some aspirin for the headache, he rolled over preparing to get out of bed, but stopped startled. He was looking right into Trin's sleeping face. He stared at her, still a little out of it, and then realized with relief that she was sitting on the floor with her arms folded on the bed.  
  
  
  
Trin's sleep was troubled. She was constantly haunted by invisible demons she couldn't identify. Suddenly the darkness partially cleared and Shane appeared as if out of nowhere. He walked toward her and she realized with terror she couldn't move. Normally she wasn't afraid of him, but now she was horrified. She tried to move again, but her body wouldn't respond. It wasn't as if she was paralyzed by fear, she just couldn't *move*.  
  
Shane walked toward her, taking his time. As if enjoying the fear he brought to her. As he stepped closer, he placed his hand on her cheek and traced her features gently.  
  
"So beautiful, so delicate. Too bad you have to die" he sneered, now behind her.  
  
Her shoulder was gripped tightly and she was shaken roughly.  
  
  
  
Trin's eyes suddenly flew open and Heero drew back his hand. Her eyes were wild; just like the time when he came into her room and she had repeated something about 'the blood' as she thrashed in his grasp.  
  
"Trin.." he began cautiously.  
  
It was Shane; he was in her room. She didn't know how he got into the house. It didn't matter. He was inside. But she'd take care of him. Her hand reached slowly and grasped the first thing that it found. A pillow, but it would do.  
  
The next thing he knew, he was being attacked by a pillow. Poor Heero still dazed tried blocking all the attacks, but his hang over got worse. He attempted to move toward her, but his eyes still didn't focus fully and he unintentionally fell off the bed, taking Trin with him.  
  
Trin blinked, her eyes focusing on Heero's face centimeters away from hers. She realized with astonishment that they were on the floor in his room. His Prussian blue eyes studied her ebony ones.  
  
"Trin.." his voice was cautious, as if ready to act immediately if needed to.  
  
"Yeah?" she answered her voice just above a whisper.  
  
"Are you okay?" Was it just her, or did he seem…*concerned*?  
  
"Are you?"  
  
He seemed confused at her response for a moment. At that time their faces moved even closer, their lips almost brushing.  
  
Then Heero's mind snapped back to reality and he pulled away. Trin as well realized what happened, or rather almost happened, and sat up; blushing slightly.  
  
Heero remained on the floor, except now in a sitting position.  
  
"You didn't answer my question" Trin reminded softly.  
  
He stood up, but she caught his eyes for a second. She saw a flash of anger.  
  
"You should leave" he told her coldly.  
  
She hated to admit it, but she was disappointed. She had almost kissed him and he still wouldn't tell her what was wrong. Whoa, backtrack, her mind screamed. She had almost kissed him? Her brain had trouble processing this. She had almost kissed Heero Yuy? Okay, this was too much. First of all, she didn't like him, she didn't care for him, so why would she kiss him? Second of all, this was Heero, no explanation needed! !  
  
"Trin" she snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her name "Leave"  
  
She was stung by the words. Again, she mentally slapped herself.  
  
Silently getting up, she walked toward the door and paused in the doorway looking back. Heero glared at her and she left.  
  
As soon as the door closed behind her, Heero dropped onto the bed. 'What am I doing?' he thought, running his hand through his hair. Why had he almost kissed her? It was as if he had no control over his body and he didn't like it one bit. Besides, he didn't care for her, right?  
  
This girl messed him up so much. He couldn't remember the last time he was so confused and lost. What was this feeling he got when he was so close to her? He didn't know. But he had to figure out soon, before he couldn't afford to mess up.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin walked into her room, involuntarily slamming the door. Grabbing some clothes from the closet she walked into the bathroom and after undressing got into the shower. She scowled as the water hit her still hurting skin and adjusted the temperature.  
  
She showered and washed her hair, then after getting dressed stepped back into her room. She grabbed the hairbrush and began brushing her hair slowly.  
  
She hated to admit it, but she was hurt by Heero being so cold to her. But this is how Heero was to everyone, what made her think he would act any different toward her. Well he did tell her about his first mission, she remembered. But he probably only did so because of what happened earlier that night. For all she knew none of it was true anyway. She sighed. It was unbelievable how easily Heero got her upset. That never happened before. She shouldn't care, it's his life and he can do whatever he wants with it, right? So why did it hurt when he basically told her to back off? She was only worried about him, that's all. He was her friend, in a way, she was supposed to care for her friends. 'Aw, who are you fooling?!' a voice inside her head screamed. 'You like him' No, she didn't; she couldn't. He was her friend, her bodyguard, nothing more. Nevertheless she felt something for him that was more than friendship and she knew it, but wouldn't admit it.  
  
Suddenly she remembered the dream she had; where Heero got shot and basically died in her arms. She felt the pain inside again at the memory. She never wanted anything like that to happen to Heero and the fact that he was drinking didn't help ease her troubled mind. She wanted to know what was wrong more than anything. She wanted him to tell her so she could help him; before it was too late.  
  
Then she remembered something else. The day after she had the dream, she couldn't remember much, but she recalled waking up on her bed with everyone around her. Heero then told her that she had went completely out of control when he tried talking to her. Faint memories of that incident surfaced in her mind and she realized almost the same thing had happened again this morning. She had mistaken Heero for Shane just like last time she thought Heero was a dead corpse. What was going on with her head? Was she going crazy? Of course not, she attempted to calm herself, but it didn't do much good. Her hands shook and grasped the hairbrush tighter. So far it had only happened with Heero and she wondered if it would happen again. She prayed it wouldn't. She had hurt Heero the first time, scratching up his arms. He still had marks left and it pained her to see them every day, knowing that she did that to him. She didn't think she hurt him today but she was lucky the only thing that was close to her was a pillow. What if it was something heavier? Deadlier?  
  
No. She wouldn't think like that. She had had a nightmare and when Heero woke her up she was still partially dreaming, that's all. Yes, that's all.  
  
She breathed slowly, trying to calm herself. Then as she lowered her hairbrush she thought she saw something move to her side. Her head snapped in that direction, but she saw nothing. She needed to get out of the room, she realized. Needed to be around other people. Before she really did go insane.  
  
Quickly getting up she walked out of her room briskly and down the hall toward the living room. As she walked in, she felt her body relax at the normalness of the room. Trowa was again reading a newspaper. Wufei seemed to be mediating and she averted her gaze from him, not wanting to get worked up again. In the kitchen Quatre was making breakfast as usual. And Duo and Acire were sitting at the table chatting about something. Duo's arm was around Acire's shoulder and as she watched Acire laughed and pecked him on the cheek. Duo grinned and briefly kissed her on the lips.  
  
Unconsciously Trin's fists tightened. She was jealous and recalling the incident that morning made her even angrier. 'Stop that train of thought Trinity Silverlight!' she yelled at herself mentally. Relationships weren't for her. She was a lone shadow, a soldier inside her waiting to get out. She didn't need any fluff like that.  
  
"Trin, hey!" Acire yelled as she saw her friend standing in the doorway.  
  
Trin looked at her and smiled. Little did Acire know the smile was forced.  
  
"Hi. Morning, you guys" Trin said as she sat down in a chair across from the two.  
  
"Sleep good?" Duo grinned at her and she forced herself to grin back yet again.  
  
"Yeah. I'm sure *you* did" she replied with a wink and both Duo and Acire blushed furiously.  
  
"Hey, um, Duo. Can I talk to you after breakfast?" she added suddenly.  
  
Duo seemed to be confused, but nodded.  
  
"Yeah, sure Trin. No problem"  
  
"Thanks Duo" Trin replied just as Quatre had called to everyone that breakfast was ready. Trowa folded his newspaper and walked toward the kitchen and so did Wufei. Heero walked into the room exactly at that moment and took his place at the table as well.  
  
As they ate Trin tried to look at him as little as possible, but she could feel his icy gaze on her. Everyone as silent as always, except Duo and Acire of course. Suddenly out of nowhere a memory surfaced in her mind; of something that had happened a couple of days ago. It was right after the incident at the mall and she and Heero were in his room. Heero was bandaging a cut on her leg as she noticed a picture on his desk. With a closer look she realized Relena Peacecraft. And when she had asked Heero about it he said he was her bodyguard, but to Trin it seemed as if he wasn't telling her the entire truth. Could this be what was bothering Heero? Could Relena possibly been something more to him than just one of his missions?  
  
Trin finished her meal as fast as she could and then waited impatiently for Duo to finish. He, however, took his time as he chatted between every bite. Just when Trin thought she was going to kill him, he finished and by then so did everyone else. After thanking Quatre, he stood and looked at Trin quizzically.  
  
"Didn't you want to talk to me, Trin?" he asked and she nodded.  
  
"Yeah. Thanks for the breakfast Quatre" she said as she stood up.  
  
"Sure thing" the blond replied cheerily.  
  
As they headed out Acire stood as well, but Trin shook her head.  
  
"Sorry Acire. I kind of wanted to talk to Duo in private" she said apologetically. "But don't worry, I won't steal him away from you" she added with a wink.  
  
"Hey, if you were any other girl I *would* be worried" Acire laughed.  
  
Trin's eyes narrowed.  
  
"And if this was any other time I wouldn't let you get away with that" she told her and grabbing Duo's arm led him out of the room before Acire could think of any other remarks.  
  
* * *  
  
"Okay, so what did you wanna talk to me about?" Duo asked as he flashed her a grin.  
  
He and Trin were sitting on the back steps of the house. It was a warm day and their hair was just slightly moved by the cool breeze.  
  
Trin move around and finally settled with her one leg folded underneath her.  
  
"Duo, could you," she began tensely "could you tell me about, Heero?"  
  
Duo's eyes widened with surprise.  
  
"Heero?" he echoed.  
  
"Yeah" she nodded.  
  
"Trin, I don't mean to be rude, but why are you asking me this?" he asked her and she noticed the usual childish spark was gone from his eyes and replaced by seriousness.  
  
"It's a long story Duo, and I can't really tell you. Let's just say it's a hunch I have" she said trying to be patient. Unfortunately, patience was not her best quality.  
  
Duo shook his head and sighed. She strongly reminded him of Heero.  
  
"Okay" he said after a moment of thought.  
  
Then little by little he told her about how Heero was trained to be the 'perfect soldier' from his early childhood.  
  
The 'perfect soldier'. Trin recalled calling Heero that.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
//"You're making fun of me," Trin accused.  
  
Heero turned his back to her as he stuck the coffee cup into the dishwasher. "I'm not."  
  
"You *are*. And since when does the perfect soldier do the dishes?" she asked mockingly.  
  
"Don't call me that," he said.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Just... don't."//  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It seemed as if the use of that name had struck a nerve for him. She wondered if she had accidentally came across something.  
  
By then Duo was done and watched her intently. He didn't tell her much, but it was enough.  
  
'Maybe I shouldn't be telling her this' he thought heavily.  
  
Realizing that he was done talking, Trin turned to look at him.  
  
"Thanks, Duo" she said quietly "Thanks a lot"  
  
She stood up to leave, but Duo grabbed her wrist.  
  
"Trin, where is all this going?"  
  
"I can't tell you, Duo, I really can't" she said almost apologetically. Almost.  
  
He shook his head again.  
  
"He's more lenient to you than to any of us, but Trin, leave him alone"  
  
She pulled her hand out of his grasp roughly and with a final defiant look walked back into the house.  
  
* * *  
  
Heero stood in a shadow next to a window on the second floor. He watched as Trin talked to Duo. Duo's back was facing him but he could see Trin's face clearly. She seemed to be listening to Duo. Then she got up and Duo caught her arm. Trin glared at him and after a moment went into the house. Heero speculated what they talked about.  
  
* * *  
  
"Idiots" the shadow growled angrily.  
  
"We'll find them soon" Shane replied unnervingly.  
  
"Soon is not good enough!" the person snapped. "We need to find them now or we'll lose the advantage.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Okay, Okay, this was mostly a "Trin chapter" I know. I hope it wasn't *too* boring though. lol anyway, the next one will be more interesting I promise.  
  
Also, yours truly's birthday is in a week! March 18th ^^ ::BIG GRIN:: I'm gonna be 15!! Presents such as fics, pictures or anything else are welcome *hint* *hint* LOL! You better know I'm kidding! Anyways, I'll try to get the next chapter out by then! Ja!  
  
Luv  
  
~Arion~ 


	13. Haunted

Trin sat on her bed with her laptop in front of her. She stared at the blank screen. Initially she was going to search for any articles concerning the death of Relena Peacecraft, but now she wasn't sure she should be doing that. This was Heero's past after all, she shouldn't be poking her nose into something that was none of her business. On the other hand, if Heero was hurting himself, it *was* her business. Or was it?  
  
She sighed. 'Heero, why couldn't you just tell me?' she thought bitterly.  
  
* * *  
  
An hour passed and Trin was still not able to make a decision. She stood up and stretched, deciding to go for a swim in the pool. She grabbed a two- piece swimsuit out of the closet and changed. She stepped into a pair of flip-flops, snatched a towel from the bathroom and headed out of the room throwing it over her shoulder. She stopped in the doorway and walked back into the room. Opening a drawer in her dresser, she pulled out a pair of shades. It was sunny out; maybe she'll tan for a bit.  
  
To her surprise, as she entered the gym she saw Heero swimming laps in the water. She frowned and instead walked through the double doors onto the deck. She stretched out on a recliner and folded the towel, putting it under her head as a pillow.  
  
Her body relaxed under the warm rays and she was just starting to drift into sleep as a shadow fell over her. She opened her eyes slightly, squinting against the sunlight despite her sunglasses. Unsurprisingly, she saw Heero scowling down on her. He was dressed in a pair of swimming trunks and had a towel draped around his neck. She noticed he was still wet from head to toe.  
  
"Why are you out here?" he demanded angrily.  
  
She gave him a blank stare.  
  
"Take a wild guess"  
  
"You're not supposed to go out of the house alone" he snapped.  
  
"You were right inside" she mumbled as she closed her eyes again.  
  
"And that wouldn't help much if someone decided to put a hole through your head" he growled.  
  
She sighed and sat up, propping herself with her elbows.  
  
"Look, Heero, I have a feeling they want me alive, so they wouldn't shoot me"  
  
He frowned and she noticed his eyes had that glazed over look they had when he got angry.  
  
"If you're so afraid for my safety, you can stay right here and make sure I don't get dead," she said almost teasingly.  
  
"Hn"  
  
"….or, get one of the other guys to baby sit me" she added as she laid down again.  
  
"Hn. They're all gone"  
  
"Oh really? Where are they?" she asked half interested.  
  
Heero didn't respond and she let it go. He wasn't the one to make conversation with. Besides, she didn't feel much like talking to him since that morning.  
  
By the sound of his footsteps she could tell he walked to the edge of the deck, and by the slight squeak of the wood she guessed he leaned against it.  
  
She wondered if he had even thought about what happened that morning. Probably not.  
  
* * *  
  
Without realizing it Heero closed his eyes and drifted into sleep as he leaned against the railing.  
  
  
  
"I still don't think you should be making a speech at a time like this. It's too dangerous" he said heatedly.  
  
"Heero, don't worry" Relena answered as she placed her hand on his cheek, just barely touching the skin. "I'll be fine. The speech is very important for the treaty"  
  
She smiled and gently kissed him on the cheek; then stepped out from behind the curtains. Heero watched her as she walked to the podium.  
  
She shouldn't be making a speech in an open area, especially since they had just recently lost track of OZ's plans and there were some signs the last few attacks were not made by the OZ. They didn't have a slight idea of when or where either of them was going to attack next. This was way too risky.  
  
In the mean time Relena took her place at the microphone and began her speech. Heero listen half heartedly, but his attention was focused on scanning the crowd for anything unusual.  
  
  
  
Relena had finished the speech and walked off the stage as the crowd gave a standing ovation. She smiled at him as he guided her toward a shuttle.  
  
"See I told you it was going to be okay"  
  
"Hn"  
  
Suddenly Quatre ran up to them and grabbed Heero's arm just as he was boarding the shuttle.  
  
"There's been an explosion at the Preventers Headquarters. We're needed there right away," the blond gasped as he tried to catch his breath.  
  
Without another word, Heero jumped to the ground and alongside of Quatre ran back to the where their gundams were hidden; knowing the Preventers on the shuttle would take care of Relena.  
  
  
  
Just as Wing Zero came to life he saw the other four gundams awake as well. With a press of a button the long white wings came out and Wing Zero soared into the sky. He had just turned to head in the direction of the Preventers Headquarters when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.  
  
He turned his gundam just in time to see the Shuttle XZ6 574 crash into the ground. His entire body froze as he saw explosion after explosion erupt where the shuttle hit the earth. His eyes widened in horror as he realized that was the shuttle Relena was on.  
  
"No! Relena!" he cried desperately. But he knew it was too late. There was no chance she could have survived *that*.  
  
"Heero!" Duo's voice cut into his trance.  
  
His eyes frozen with terror and disbelief looked up at the screen just as Duo connected him with a communication link the others had just received inside their cockpits.  
  
"I hope this will be a warning to you all-" a shadowed figure on the screen spoke. Suddenly as he became aware of Heero he leaned forward in his chair slightly.  
  
"Heero Yuy! You were supposed to be on Shuttle XZ6 574!" he exclaimed.  
  
Then he leaned back in his chair.  
  
"No matter. I will deal with you later, but let this be a lesson to you all" with that he cut the link.  
  
Heero remained in the same position as reality sunk in. It was him who the person was after. It was him who was meant to die on the Shuttle XZ6 574; which he left at the last minute. And Relena had paid the price.  
  
  
  
Heero awoke with a shock as his eyes snapped open. His heart beat fast and he couldn't seem to catch his breath. That dream had been haunting him nearly every night for the past year.  
  
* * *  
  
Back on her recliner, Trin opened one eye lazily and gazed at Heero. She was just about to close it as she noticed something odd. His breathing was uneven, as if he couldn't catch his breath and his hand shook as he gripped the wooden railing.  
  
"Heero?" she asked cautiously as she sat up half way, leaning on one elbow.  
  
He turned to look at her and she didn't notice anything different about him. Had she been closer, she would see fright in his eyes, but she was too far away.  
  
"Are you okay?" she alleged lightly.  
  
"Hn" was his response.  
  
"Ugh, why do I even bother?" she muttered as she turned over onto her stomach and practically threw herself back onto the recliner. 


	14. Surprise!

"Trin. Trin! Wake up!" Acire shouted as she shook Trin's shoulder.  
  
The brunette stirred sleepily and pulling the towel from under her head proceeded with hitting Acire with it.  
  
"Get lost" she mumbled and turned her head away.  
  
"Trin, come on. Dinner is almost ready!" Acire whined as she pulled the towel out of her friend's hand.  
  
"Huh? What time is it?" Trin inquired as she raised her head and brushed her hair out of her face. She noticed the sun was setting. She must've fallen asleep.  
  
"Six thirty" Acire responded as she glanced at her watch.  
  
"Aw, man. How long have a been out here?" She looked around confusingly.  
  
"How should I know" her friend shrugged.  
  
"Alone" Trin added, noticing neither Heero, or any of the other pilots were around.  
  
She frowned as Acire opened her mouth for one of her sarcastic comments.  
  
"Don't start with me," she warned as she sat up.  
  
The girl pouted.  
  
"Fine, but Heero went in a little while ago. He told me to wake you up"  
  
Trin nodded and stood up, immediately becoming aware of the sharp stinging in her back. Sunburn, no doubt.  
  
"I've almost been burned alive a few days ago, my skin is not fully healed and what do I do?! I fall asleep in the freakin' sun!" she fumed to herself as she stalked into the house, leaving Acire laughing on the deck.  
  
* * *  
  
Dressed in a pair a navy blue capris and white spaghetti strapped tank top, Trin walked down the hallway toward the living room. She ran her hand through her long hair and stretched, being careful not to hurt herself in the process. It was unusually dark and it didn't get any lighter as she neared the living room. She wondered if there was a power outage.  
  
As she walked through the doorway the lights suddenly came on. She stepped back in surprise.  
  
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRIN!!!"  
  
All of the pilots and Acire were standing in the room, each holding some kind of package. Quatre lit fifteen candles on a cake and Acire and Duo began to sing "Happy Birthday" loudly and off tune.  
  
Trin stared at them blankly unable to put a sentence together. As the song ended Acire took her elbow and pushed her toward the cake.  
  
"Make a wish!" she grinned.  
  
Trin thought for a moment, the pulled back her hair and blew out the candles. Duo slapped Trin on the back cheerfully, and she winced. Everyone except Wufei cheered and clapped. Heero applauded silently.  
  
"Open the presents!!" Duo yelled nearly making everyone deaf.  
  
"Wait, how did you know it was my birthday?" Trin questioned as she was pushed down onto the couch and handed a box.  
  
"I told them, how else?" Acire smirked.  
  
"You should've told us, Trin" Quatre added, almost accusingly.  
  
"I didn't want to make a big deal out of it" she smiled awkwardly.  
  
"Come on! Open mine first! Open mine first!" Duo cried as he bounced up and down.  
  
"Okay, okay" Trin laughed as he handed her a small box. She opened it and found a "Cake of the Month" subscription.  
  
"Every month you get the cake of the month mailed to you" he explained as she looked at him quizzically.  
  
"Uh huh…" she nodded slowly. "Thanks Duo"  
  
"No problem!" he beamed.  
  
Next she was handed a package from Quatre. As she opened the slim, velvet box she found an expensive-looking, silver charm bracelet in it.  
  
"Oh wow. Quatre, it's gorgeous," she breathed as her eyes widened.  
  
The blond smiled and taking the bracelet from it's box slipped it around her slender wrist.  
  
She was still admiring the beautiful piece of jewelry on her wrist as a rather heavy package was dropped in her lap. She looked up to see Wufei standing in front of her.  
  
"What did you get me, a brick?" she muttered sarcastically as she opened the box. Frankly, she didn't expect him to get her anything at all.  
  
"An….iron" she said blankly as she stared at the appliance in front of her.  
  
Duo and Acire snickered.  
  
"Wufei, I told you to get her something nice!" Quatre accused.  
  
"You're a woman, this is what women do" the Chinese teen replied flatly.  
  
"Well, I'm never going to use this. Although, it *would* work nicely if I wanted to hit *someone* over the head with something rather heavy" Trin retorted slyly as she removed the electrical device from her lap onto the floor.  
  
Wufei glowered at her as everyone, including Trowa, laughed. A shadow of a smile could be seen on Heero's face.  
  
Trowa then walked up to her and handed her a white box tied with a ribbon. She untied it carefully and as she opened the box she found an elegant crystal rose. Taking it out carefully, she noticed small jewels imbedded in the petals as water drops.  
  
Acire reached to it as well and Trin slapped her hand away.  
  
"I just got it, you can't brake it just yet" she warned "Thanks so much Trowa, it's absolutely breathtaking"  
  
The brunette smiled at her as Heero silently handed her his package. She looked up as he was placing it on her lap and their eyes locked. Almost unwillingly she tore away her gaze and unwrapped the small package. Her eyes widened as she took out her present. It was a silver dagger about six inches long. A dragon wrapped around its handle, blood red stones filling its eyeholes. It looked like a miniature sword.  
  
She ran her finger up and down the blade, admiring its smoothness. Her hand wrapped around the handle, her eyes unable to tear away. Her facial expression was pure awe and a different spark appeared in her eyes. A dangerous, cold, lethal, glow.  
  
Duo's eyes widened as he watched her. She was by far most fascinated with the dagger than any other present. And that glow. He realized fearfully, she looked like Heero during battle. A ruthless killer. He shook his head. He had to be wrong.  
  
When he looked back up he saw Acire handing Trin a large package. The brunette almost sorrowfully put down the blade and took the present; the glow in her eyes gone.  
  
Trin unwrapped the large box and found something black with a thin piece of paper on top. She picked it up, seeing it was a gift certificate to a restaurant she liked. Acire bent down to her level, her eyes glowing with mischief.  
  
"What's the catch?" Trin asked quietly.  
  
"You have to go with Heero" Acire replied just as hushed so only the two of them could hear.  
  
Duo chuckled, Acire had let him in on the plan earlier.  
  
Trin gave Acire her best death glare as she tucked the paper into her pocket. Then turned back to the box. The black object turned out to be a long trench coat. Something familiar struck her about it.  
  
"Hey…I had one just like this.." she said slowly.  
  
"Yeah, I know" the other girl replied guiltily. "I don't think those paint stains ever washed off"  
  
Trin's mouth dropped open and her eyes flashed angrily.  
  
"That was you?!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet "I'm gonna strangle you!!"  
  
Acire ducked behind Duo fearfully.  
  
"I bought you a new one!"  
  
"I don't care!" Trin yelled as she lunged for her.  
  
She chased Acire around the room as neither of the pilots made an attempt to help the poor girl. Finally her knee began hurting again since it didn't fully heal yet and she was forced to stop. She glared at her friend one last time, a glare that clearly said "we'll deal with this later". Acire gulped and Trin went to hug each of the pilots and thank them for the presents. Neither of them were surprised when she skipped Wufei.  
  
Heero was last and she tried to hug him as brief as possible. First of all, the others were there and she didn't want Acire to get any ideas. But most importantly, she didn't want to irritate him by being near him for too long.  
  
"Thanks, Heero. I love it" she whispered in his ear and reluctantly pulled away.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Yay! I got this chapter out before my birthday! LOL Yeah, since my birthday's comin' up, I decided to have Trin's birthday as well. I really hope you liked it, because I enjoyed writing it! Also, SPECIAL THANKS TO AERALEA!!!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Arion~  
  
PS  
  
I'm not sure, so tell me, am I making the characters OCC? Because I'm trying hard not to!! And, too much fluff ne?! I think so. Also, tell me if there's anything you'd wanna see in the upcoming chapters! I'm always open for suggestions!!!! 


	15. Relocation

Heero walked down a long corridor. The lights were dim and he couldn't quite recognize his surroundings. Suddenly a shadow appeared to his left. He turned swiftly, but it was gone. He cautiously dismissed it and continued walking. Another movement; this time to his right. But when he turned, there was nothing once again. He turned back and the shadowy figure was in front of him. The person was close enough for him to be able to see the features of the face, but oddly, he couldn't.  
  
"Who are you?" he demanded icily.  
  
The shadow giggled. He could tell it was a girl.  
  
"Answer me!" he ordered.  
  
The girl giggled again. A spooky giggle.  
  
"You know who I am, Heero" she smirked.  
  
His eyes widened slightly, so she knew his name. He couldn't exactly place the voice either.  
  
"Come on, Heero. Think"  
  
Suddenly there was a flicker of light and he saw Relena before him. He gasped.  
  
"Relena?"  
  
There was another flash of light and the image changed to Trin.  
  
"Nope, fooled you" she giggled.  
  
Another sparkle of light and Relena stood by Trin, both of them facing Heero. In a flash, Trin was behind Relena and there was a blade in her hand. Heero recognized it. It was the same dragon blade he had given her for her birthday.  
  
With a swift motion she sliced Relena's throat and smiled gleefully as the brunette collapsed. A final gasp for breath escaped Relena's rosy lips as blood stained her clothes and tricked into a red pool on the floor.  
  
With shock, Heero watched Trin as she looked at the body in front of her, a strange smile played on her lips.  
  
The lights flashed once more and the rest of the pilots stood a few steps behind Trin. She walked back to them.  
  
Heero lunged at her as she was just about to cut Duo, but she avoided him easily. He threw a punch and she grabbed his fist and squeezed even as she heard the bones crack.  
  
"You can't stop me, Heero," she said calmly as he fought to get out of her grasp.  
  
He grabbed for his gun but she kicked it out of his hand. She proceeded with kneeing him in the stomach and as he bent over slightly, tripped him and he fell to the ground. Mercilessly she kicked him and blood sputtered out of his mouth.  
  
She turned and once again walked toward Duo. Heero got up unsteadily and as she lifted the blade to slice the boy, tackled her. She smiled as he pinned her to the ground.  
  
Then he felt her knee slam into his chest as she threw him over her and sat on his stomach, preventing him from moving.  
  
"You taught me, Heero" she smiled. "I can mirror your every move"  
  
All of a sudden he felt paralyzed, unable to move an inch. She gave him a pitying look and moved closer to his face, stretching over his body.  
  
She kissed his lips slowly and bent down to his ear.  
  
"You can't do anything, Heero" her voice was husky and low "How does it feel to be helpless, Perfect Soldier?"  
  
* * *  
  
Heero shot up in his bed. Cold sweat covered his body and he struggled to catch his breath. He looked around realizing he was in his room and as he looked toward the window he saw it was still night. Dark clouds were sliding over the moon, its light appearing, and disappearing once again.  
  
He couldn't believe the nightmare he had had, but it got him thinking. He'd been training Trin for a couple of weeks now, and she was advancing quickly. He wasn't so sure it was a good idea to train her anymore. He had done it for her protection, but what if the perfect soldier had chosen the wrong path this time?  
  
Heero walked toward the window and opened it, letting the cool air ruffle his hair. He looked down and saw a shadow on the deck. He looked closer and realized with astonishment it was Trin. Anger filled him as he walked out of his room. He couldn't believe this girl. He had clearly told her to stay off the deck.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin leaned against the deck's railing and stared up into the dark sky. For some reason she couldn't fall asleep, even though she was tired; and decided to come out here and watch the stars. Unfortunately for her, the sky was mostly covered with clouds, but she felt like staying outside anyway. Being locked up in that house was getting to her.  
  
She was only praying Heero wouldn't find her out there again. As if on queue, she heard the double doors open and sighed. She was either cursed or he was monitoring her every move. She wasn't sure which one to choose.  
  
A cold hand grabbed her shoulder and she was spun around roughly. She gasped as she faced Heero. His eyes were burning with anger, but she also realized he was sweating despite the cold night. The fact that he was dressed in nothing more than sweatpants, couldn't help either.  
  
"I told you to stay away from here" his voice was monotone as usual, but rougher and angrier.  
  
"I-I know," she stammered, suddenly at the loss of words.  
  
He glared at her.  
  
"Don't ever disobey me again," he hissed as his grasp on her shoulder tightened.  
  
She winced; his fingers dug into her shoulder painfully.  
  
"Heero you're hurting me," she stated firmly, trying not to collapse, as he was pressing into a nerve "Heero!"  
  
He seemed not to hear her and when she thought her body was going to give out, he suddenly let go. Trin leaned against the railing and rubbed her shoulder. Heero's back was now facing her.  
  
"I apologize," he said stiffly and she blinked in surprise. He apologized to her; that was a good sign already.  
  
"It's okay," she said, as nicely as she could at the moment.  
  
She walked around him and looked into his face. It was unreadable, but she sensed something wasn't right.  
  
"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" her voice was just above a whisper.  
  
He considered telling her, he really did. But suddenly they heard a screech of tires coming from the direction of the road and both of their heads snapped that way.  
  
Two black vans sped around the corner and down the road, one of them stopping near the base. People dressed in black jumped out of the vehicles and spread over the street.  
  
Heero cursed sharply and grabbing Trin's arm, dragged her inside. There he let her go and she followed him up the stairs to the second floor.  
  
"Wake Acire, we're leaving now," he ordered and she obeyed without a word.  
  
* * *  
  
As Trin burst into Acire's room, she immediately tripped over something and cursed angrily under her breath. She stumbled to the bed and with surprise found Duo with his arm wrapped around Acire's shoulders, lying on the bed next to her. Thankfully, they both had their clothes on.  
  
Shaking her head to clear the disturbing thoughts, Trin reached down and shook them both roughly. Duo slapped her hand away in his sleep and Acire mumbled something incoherent. Exasperated, Trin ripped off the covers and shook them again. The pair slept on, oblivious. It looked like she'd have to resort to her last and most effective tactic. She took a deep breath of air.  
  
"WAKE UP, DAMN IT!!!!!!!" she yelled.  
  
Both Acire and Duo woke up with a start and Duo fell off the bed. Down the hall, she heard Wufei wake up and yell something about disrespectful onnas.  
  
"Trin what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Acire cried angrily and Duo glared at Trin from his position on the floor.  
  
"I should be asking you that" the brunette snapped angrily, and as the pair blushed continued, "Pack up, we're leaving now"  
  
Without any further explanation she turned and walked out of the room, pushing past a very angry Wufei.  
  
* * *  
  
In about ten minutes everyone was gathered in the hallway. Each had a backpack slung on their shoulders. Acire was leaning on Duo and practically falling asleep; but all of the pilots, including Duo, were awake and alert. Trin as well was ready to act, but she was doing a great job hiding the fact that she was tired and worn out. Training with Heero wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do, but she never slacked off or asked him to take it easy on her. In result, he wasn't aware on how the training for the past weeks has taken its toll on her.  
  
"We'll take out gundams to the nearest safe house and act from there" Heero snapped as he stood to face everyone. "I'll take Trin in Zero and Duo, you take Acire with you in Deathscythe"  
  
All of the boys nodded and ran down the hallway, with the girls following them. They followed the hallway to its very end, there Heero opened a panel in the wall and typed in a code. A well in the floor opened and one by one they climbed down. As she climbed, Trin looked around. They were in a huge underground chamber. It was mostly dark, but as someone flipped a switch, five lights turned on one at a time, illuminating five gundams. Mesmerized by the five magnificent machines, Trin's foot missed a step on the ladder and she fell. She was fully prepared to land, but strong arms caught her and she looked up into Heero's Prussian blue eyes. Without a word, he sat her down and ran toward the center gundam. Trin followed him, noting that that was the most superior one out of all the gundams.  
  
Heero waited for her at the foot of the gundam and as she ran up to him he pressed a button, and a cable came down. He grabbed Trin around the waist with one arm and the cable with the other. Then, the cable pulled up both of them and they jumped into the cockpit. Trin dropped her backpack into a corner and looked around curiously; she ran her hand over the control panel carefully. She'll have to ask Heero to show her around here once everything settled down a bit.  
  
Heero sat down in the seat in front of the controls and Trin moved out of his way, and kneeled behind the chair. She watched over his shoulder as the gundam slowly came to life and with a press of a button Heero opened a steel panel over the chamber. All the gundams flew into the air and Trin held onto the back of the chair for support.  
  
As the looked down through the screen, she saw people on the ground look up into the sky, then pull out their guns. Their small weapons however, couldn't hurt the gundams and the pilots didn't even bother counterattack.  
  
After the takeoff the flight was rather smooth, and Trin found her eyes closing as she drifted into sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
She was awoken as she felt someone pick her up and heard the gundam's hatch open. She was still barely awake, and squirmed slightly as cold air touched her skin and absently pulled the jacked tighter around herself, forgetting that she didn't have a jacket on when they left the base. Night wind blew at her face and she buried her head in the person's chest. A part of her knew it was Heero, and a part of her didn't care.  
  
A sinking feeling filled her stomach as he jumped to the ground and landed perfectly. There were voices, but her sluggish brain refused to interpret them and she slipped back into the dreamless sleep.  
  
  
  
All of the pilots hid their gundams and were now standing on the beach. It was still night and the chilly ocean air made them all shiver. Surprisingly, Acire was awake and leaned against Duo for warmth. Trin however, was entirely asleep. Heero was forced to carry her out of Wing Zero and was still holding her in his arms. She was wearing his jacket, leaving him in just his sleeveless shirt, and her head was leaning against his chest.  
  
Acire smiled to herself at the sight as the rest of the pilots talked. She knew those two were perfect for each other.  
  
All of them walked up the beach and toward a cottage located on a slight hill on the edge of a forest. They were to stay there for a while, but it wasn't half as big as the last base was. It only had three bedrooms, which meant they were going to have to have a roommate, and one room would have to have three people.  
  
Before anyone could say anything, Duo and Acire disappeared into a room. As the rest of them decided, Heero and Trin would share a room and so would Quatre, Trowa and Wufei. It didn't matter much, since they were only staying there for a week at the most.  
  
* * *  
  
Heero walked into the room he and Trin would be sharing. It was pretty big considering the size of the cottage, and had a large window and two beds on separate sides of the room.  
  
He carefully laid Trin down on one of the beds. He then walked over to the closet, pulled out an extra blanket and dropped it over her.  
  
Heero stood watching her for a moment. The sky cleared and the moonlight illuminated her features with it's icy light. Her hair looked black and her skin seemed pale, even light blue. For the first time he realized that maybe he was training her too hard. After all, she has never been trained like that before, and he was training her as he would a gundam pilot; which she was not.  
  
In any case, they would be spending the following week or so here and that wouldn't give him much opportunity to train her. Which was probably good.  
  
Suddenly catching himself on those thoughts, he became angry once again. She needed to be trained for her own protection, and that's that. Once again, he didn't *have* to train her, but he did. And if he did it "for her own protection", that meant he cared that she wasn't harmed. Not in a sense that it was his mission either. It wasn't a part of his mission to train her.  
  
He shook his head angrily. He was so confused, so lost. In a way, he wished he never received this mission. Never met Trin.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: So, you like? The next chapter will be up shortly since spring break starts Wednesday. WOO HOO!!!!!!! ^^  
  
Anyway, thanks to all of you who wished me a happy birthday (I'm actually having the first party today)! Also, once again I would like to thank Alexia Goddess for the best present ever, a fanfic! It's so AWESOME thanks so much!! ::hugs:: I recommend for all of you to read it, it's called "Anything is Possible". Ja!!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Arion~ 


	16. Thunderstorm

He was furious and Shane knew it. He had killed many of them for messing up before, and deep inside Shane was afraid he'd kill him as well.  
  
"How…could you let them…escape?" the shadow growled through clenched teeth. His voice was controlled; it was taking a lot of self control not to break the neck of the boy in front of him.  
  
"They were protected by gundams" Shane replied shakily in his defense.  
  
"I know that, you fool!" he bellowed and slammed his fist on the desk, cracking the wood. His control on his anger was slipping. "The most significant part of the plan is going as intended. We'll attack soon"  
  
"But-" he opened his mouth, but decided not to push his luck "Yes, sir"  
  
* * *  
  
Confusion clouded her brain when Trin woke up the following day. She remembered falling asleep in Wing Zero's cockpit and a slight memory of waking up when Heero carried her out of the gundam lingered as well. But as far as she could tell, she was in neither of those places anymore. Sitting up and looking around the room, she noticed it had another bed alongside the other wall, and upon seeing Heero's backpack next to it, she guessed he was her roommate. 'That's strange' she thought 'why on earth would they pair me with Heero?' She had a feeling Acire had something to do with this.  
  
Her right shoulder was sour and when she turned to look at it, she realized with surprise that she was wearing a jacket. With a closer look, she saw that it was Heero's. She blinked in bewilderment and blushed slightly. It had kept her from freezing, but she did realize how it must have looked. To Acire anyway.  
  
With a faint smile nevertheless, she pulled it off. When she examined her shoulder she saw that a bruise was spreading over her skin where Heero had grabbed it last night. It looked like an ugly purple flower blooming on her shoulder. Here and there were red spots where the skin was damaged especially bad. She frowned in irritation. This would raise unwanted questions.  
  
Clearing the thoughts out of her head for the time being, she crawled out of bed. Realizing she had no idea as to what time it was, she looked out the window. The sun was well on its way down, so it must have been late afternoon.  
  
After looking through the clothes she had time to pack, she chose a pair of shorts and a short-sleeved shirt that covered her shoulder where it was hurt. Then after slipping on a pair of flip-flops, she walked out of the room and made her way downstairs.  
  
The house was quiet and the hallway was already slightly dim. It looked deserted. Just as she thought that, she walked into the living room and found Heero typing on his laptop as usual.  
  
"Hey" she said quietly as she dug her hands into her pockets uneasily.  
  
"Hi" he replied, his expression stoic as usual; but as he looked up he noted that she was wearing a pretty conserved shirt for a warm day such as this.  
  
"So where is everyone?" Trin asked after a moment of silence.  
  
"They went down to the beach" Heero replied without taking his eyes off the computer screen.  
  
"Oh"  
  
She stood for a moment then started toward the door. Seeing this, Heero groaned in frustration and after closing the laptop stood up, following her.  
  
They made their way out of the house and down the dirt path toward the beach; Trin taking off her shoes as they stepped onto the sand. The view was gorgeous. The setting sun colored the tips of the clouds pink and orange; even the ocean had a golden glow to it. The water was calm and the waves splashed onto the shore lazily.  
  
On the sand, not far from the water, was a blanket. Acire and Duo were sitting on it, an open picnic basket next to them. Quatre and Trowa were throwing a Frisbee back and forth, and Wufei could be seen walking the shoreline in the distance. They all looked so normal.  
  
Duo waved to them as she and Heero approached, and Trin waved back halfheartedly. Things have been tense between her and Duo since that day when she had asked him about Heero.  
  
As they reached the blanked, Trin sat down next to Acire and snatched a handful of chips from her plate as the girl protested.  
  
"Hey, get your own!" she huffed.  
  
"I'm hungry!" Trin said defensively and noticed Heero watching her as she put a chip in her mouth, "What, I can't eat now?"  
  
"Hn" was the usual reply.  
  
She rolled her eyes, knowing perfectly well what he was thinking. Junk food wasn't healthy, it wouldn't help her any with training; same as usual.  
  
Ignoring it, she swallowed another chip. It wasn't like she lived on them.  
  
"So, you slept well?" Duo asked, a grin on his face.  
  
"Yeah, fine" she answered as she grabbed a Pepsi from the cooler and opened it. Only then did she become aware of his mischievous expression.  
  
"What?" she inquired.  
  
"Nothing" the American shook his head and proceeded with eating his sandwich.  
  
Trin looked up at Heero who was looming over them.  
  
"Sit down. You're making me nervous" she said and he complied, sitting down next to her.  
  
In seconds, Duo pulled out a camera.  
  
"Maxwell…" Heero growled.  
  
"Aw come on, Hee-man. One picture" Duo whined.  
  
Heero was about to answer, but thought better of it. If he didn't argue, he wouldn't have to listen to Duo's whining.  
  
"Fine..." he mumbled and Duo grinned.  
  
"Okay, get up. You too Trin"  
  
"Hm?" the girl asked confused, but before she knew what was happening, Acire pulled her up and practically shoved her into Heero. She lost her balance, but Heero caught her just in time and then restrained her as she lunged for her friend.  
  
"Okay, Trin move closer" Duo commanded as he looked through the camera's lens.  
  
Grumbling something under her breath, she pulled out of Heero's grasp and did as told. After a few more adjustments, the shot was finally ready. In the end, they ended up standing extremely close to each other with the ocean behind them. Trin smiled sweetly, while Heero remained stoic. To a stranger, they would appear an odd couple.  
  
Finally happy with the shot, Duo snapped two pictures.  
  
"You said one picture" Heero glowered at Duo as the two photographs slid out of the camera.  
  
"Oh get over it" Trin told him as she took one of the pictures from Duo. Heero glared at her, and Duo edged away to play with a spare Frisbee with Acire.  
  
Trin sat back down on the blanket and after a moment, and so did Heero. She looked at the picture as it developed in the light and tucked it away into her back pocket.  
  
Suddenly as she reached for her soda, something hard hit her in the back of the head. She saw colors and when she looked up; she saw a shadow behind Heero. It had a knife in its hand. She was about to cry out to him, when the image swirled and she saw more shadows. But the next second her vision returned to normal and she whirled around and glared at a sheepish looking Duo.  
  
"Heh…sorry!" he called as she jumped to her feet.  
  
"Maxwell!!!" she bellowed and chased after him. It was hard running in the sand, but it was worth it.  
  
Duo yelped and took off as well, all while Acire was nearly on the ground in fits of laughter.  
  
Heero watched with amusement as Trin chased down Duo. He also noted with satisfaction that her speed and agility have improved. He continued watching as she tackled him and rubbed his nose in the sand, the American screaming protests as his precious braid fell into the water.  
  
* * *  
  
That evening the weather had changed drastically. The skies were dark and the rain poured non-stop. The wind howled, and hurled water against the windows, threatening to break them.  
  
Everyone was gathered in the living room in front of the TV, except for Heero who was fixing up his laptop in the kitchen. Suddenly the lights flickered and went out. Outside, lightning flashed and thunder boomed.  
  
"Oh this is just great" Trin sighed.  
  
Acire, who was in the process of switching seats with Trowa, tripped over his leg and fell onto Trin. The girl hissed in pain as Acire's elbow pressed into her hurt shoulder painfully.  
  
"Baka!" she swore as she pushed her friend off of her roughly.  
  
Acire glared at her in the darkness.  
  
"Heero, stop teaching her these words before she chokes on one" she growled.  
  
"Hn?" Heero inquired as he walked into the room.  
  
"No, better I choke you" Trin snapped as she stood up and headed up the stairs to her room.  
  
When Heero walked into their room about half an hour later, he was surprised to find the entire room covered with lit candles. Trin sat on her bed leaning against the wall and sketched something in a notebook. She looked up as he entered.  
  
"The power's out, remember" she explained as she saw him looking around the room, and he nodded silently.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked and she looked up with surprise.  
  
"Sketching"  
  
"I can see that. Sketching what?" he said as he walked up closer.  
  
Trin blushed faintly, but handed him the sketchpad nonetheless.  
  
Heero's eyes widened as he saw the drawing was of himself at his laptop. The picture looked incredibly lifelike.  
  
"I started it the other the day at the base," she explained awkwardly "I was bored"  
  
He nodded and after another moment handed her back the sketchpad.  
  
"It's very good"  
  
"Thanks" she smiled and watched as he walked to his bed and pulled off his shirt, then grabbed a towel from the closet. She looked away in embarrassment as she caught herself admiring his highly developed muscles. Heero walked out of the room and headed for the shower.  
  
When he returned, Trin was still working on her drawing, but she had changed into her pajamas. Her pajama top was spaghetti strapped, and revealed her injured shoulder. Heero's heart sank as he realized he must've done that when he grabbed her last night on the deck. Looking away, he walked to his bed.  
  
As he was putting away his laptop he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. Trin was standing in front of him. She pressed his jacket into his hands. He looked at it in confusion at first, he had completely forgotten she still had it.  
  
"Thanks" she said and walked back to her bed. She was just pulling back the covers when Heero spoke again.  
  
"Why did you ask Duo about me?"  
  
She froze. Her blood seemed to chill and she thought her heart had stopped.  
  
"How did you know?" her voice was hoarse and she hoped it didn't betray her inward panic.  
  
"Don't avoid the question"  
  
She winced inwardly at the coldness of his voice.  
  
"Because you wouldn't tell me" came the surprisingly calm answer.  
  
The next thing she knew, she was slammed into the wall roughly. She gasped as she tried to catch her breath.  
  
"I'm only going to say this once. This is none of your concern" Heero hissed, his features dark in the candlelight.  
  
This time she was angry. She was tired of him pushing her around. Hurting her. She was only worried about him, that's all. It's because of consequences like this that she never really got close to anyone. Didn't want to care as to what happened to anyone or what they did. But with Heero it was different. She couldn't help but care.  
  
With strength she didn't know she had she pushed him away from her and he staggered back in surprise.  
  
"Don't touch me," she sputtered. "Don't ever touch me"  
  
Nothingness was gone from Heero's eyes and replaced by surprise, with a trace of anger lingering as well.  
  
Trin glared at him, her face twisted with fury. His eyes wondered to her shoulder again and that same sinking feeling returned.  
  
"Why can't you just accept that I only wanted to help you? God knows why, because you sure don't deserve it!" she spat as she glared at him.  
  
With that she stormed past him and after hastily blowing out all the candles, crawled into bed and turned her back to him. Her anger was already fading and she felt remorse. It hurt her to say that to him, but that's how she felt deep down. Curling up into a ball, she tried to sleep.  
  
Heero was left standing in the dark. After a few minutes, he snapped out of his daze and heavily walked to his bed. He had lost it again and he didn't want to admit it, but what she said had actually touched a nerve.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin didn't know how long she's been drifting in and out of sleep, but by his even breathing she could tell Heero was asleep. She was angry, upset and confused all at once. On top of it all, she was cold. She didn't dare to look around the room, because every time she did she saw shadows reaching for her. Or at least, she thought she did.  
  
That caught her attention and she paused to think about it. Her brain has been playing tricks on her ever since they began living with the pilots. Was she really going insane, or did Wufei poison her? She mentally smacked herself for thinking stupid thoughts. They might've had their differences, but he wouldn't go as far as killing her. Just yet, anyway.  
  
It had happened three times, she realized as she thought back. The very first time, after she's had the dream about Heero. Again the morning after she fell asleep in his room; and finally, today on the beach. So far it had happened with only Heero, but she wondered if it would happen with the others as well. She hoped it didn't. Heero could protect himself the best out of all of them, but if it happened with Acire she could kill her.  
  
The smart thing to do was probably to tell the others, then again, she was never the one to do the 'smart' thing. It was probably only her imagination and wasn't worth to bother them, she tried to convince herself.  
  
As a bolt of lightning lit up the sky she unintentionally opened her eyes. Her mouth opened and a long, blood-curling scream escaped her throat.  
  
A shadow stood over her, a gun in its hand pointing directly to her head. As lightning flashed once more, she saw that it was Heero.  
  
* * *  
  
Heero was jolted awake by a loud scream. He knew it was Trin immediately and in a flash he was next to her bed. She pushed away from him as he tried to grab her shoulders.  
  
"Don't hurt me," she whispered. "I'm sorry I went behind your back and talked to Duo. Just don't kill me"  
  
His eyes widened.  
  
"Trin, what are you talking about?"  
  
He saw her hands grip the blanket so tightly her nails tore holes in the fabric.  
  
Several pairs of feet pounded down the hall and someone knocked on the door heavily.  
  
"What's going on?" he heard Acire ask anxiously.  
  
"Are you guys alright?" Quatre called through the door.  
  
"Fine. You can leave" Heero called back. He wanted to deal with this himself.  
  
There was grumbling and then the voices faded. When he turned back to Trin, he saw her trembling in the corner of her bed.  
  
She watched him through her hair that fell over her face as he walked closer. When he was inches from her, she suddenly leaped off the bed in a catlike motion and tackled him to the ground. He grabbed her wrists just as she was about to attack him. Her fingers were curled inward, her long nails ready to assail. She struggled in his grasp, but he held her firmly.  
  
Suddenly lightning flashed once again and she froze. Her auburn eyes stared at him in confusion. When she realized what position they were in, confusion was replaced by anger once again and she ripped her hands out of his.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she hissed as she climbed to her feet "What part of "Don't ever touch me" did you not understand?"  
  
He glared at her as he stood up as well and grabbed her elbow as she turned to leave.  
  
"Trin, what's going on?" he demanded as he spun her around to face him.  
  
"I don't know" she said plainly and kept her eyes on the floor.  
  
He stared at her skeptically.  
  
"I'm sorry if I hurt you" she added quietly.  
  
His fingers let go of her arm and his hand fell to his side limply. He then did something only Heero could do at a time like this. He went back to bed.  
  
"Go back to sleep" he said over his shoulder.  
  
Trin watched as he got under the covers and turned his head so that he wasn't facing her. She wasn't sure exactly of what she did, and it frightened her. She recalled seeing a shadow standing over her and then her mind was blank. The next memory was of her and Heero on the floor; him restraining her.  
  
Almost against her will she walked over to his bed and sat on the edge gingerly.  
  
"Heero, what's happening to me?"  
  
He turned to face her. In the brief light of a lighting bolt he saw the inward fear that was radiating off of her. The fear of yourself; not knowing what you might do next.  
  
He sat up as she spoke again.  
  
"Will you make sure I don't hurt anyone? Please" her voice was calm, but she was terrified on the inside. She always liked being in control, and more often than not she was. It scared her not to have power over of her own body.  
  
Heero nodded silently.  
  
"Thank you" she whispered.  
  
Heero then did something completely out of character. He wrapped his arms around her. The hug was awkward and unpracticed, but it comforted her. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. He made her feel safe and she appreciated that more than anything at the moment.  
  
But when he hugged her, her body stiffened reflexively. She didn't notice, but Heero did. He lifted her head up and looked in her eyes, searching for some kind of answer. He noticed she would never as much as sit too close to someone, but this was new.  
  
Tears burned her eyes for the first time in years and she blinked harshly trying to hold them back. A lone tear escaped and she didn't realize it until she felt Heero's rough hand brush across her cheek. Feeling him do this scared her more than anything else could have ever done. She felt her shaky hand slowly lead its way up to his and grab a hold of it tightly pulling it away from her face, yet feeling as if it wasn't her body moving. Heero's eyes widened for the moment, expecting her to attack him again. Afraid that he did something wrong. And to tell the truth, he wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing. He wasn't sure *what* he was doing.  
  
She didn't make another move except for her eyes going wild, searching his face for something, even she didn't know what. So lost in her own thoughts, she didn't realize she was moving towards him until she felt his hot breath beating off her face. It was then that she came back to reality and saw his face was only a few inches away from hers; his Prussian eyes studying her face closely.  
  
She immediately looked away, taking her hand with her, not believing what she was feeling.  
  
Heero's hand reached up and touched her shoulder gently.  
  
"I'm sorry," he whispered and she turned back to look at him.  
  
"No, I'm sorry. For saying all that to you," she replied, her voice wavering as if she wasn't used to saying those words.  
  
"I deserved it," he admitted and she smiled faintly.  
  
"You did" she laughed quietly.  
  
"Hey!" he seemed almost offended and it amused her.  
  
"Be happy Mr. Yuy. You're the first person to receive an apology from yours truly," she said mischievously as she nudged his shoulder playfully.  
  
"I'm honored" he replied as a corner of his mouth curled upward, resembling a shadow of a grin.  
  
"What's this? Heero Yuy has a sense of humor?" she laughed as she smiled fully.  
  
"There's a lot about me you don't know" he said darkly and her smile faded.  
  
"Care to tell me?" she asked for what seemed like the millionth time. "No pressure"  
  
He remained silent, but she noticed his eyes cloud over as if he was reliving a memory. His hand twitched slightly and she grasped it tightly.  
  
"Is it about…Relena?" she asked softly. It was difficult to pronounce that name. She somehow felt that Relena had seen a side of Heero that she hadn't, and she was jealous. Pausing to think about it she realized that her thought was affirmative. She was jealous. Immediately she felt bad. Relena Peacecraft was dead and here she was, hating her.  
  
"Yeah" Heero suddenly said.  
  
Trin looked at him in surprise.  
  
"Did you love her?" The question just slipped out and she covered her mouth quickly. But she didn't have a chance to take it back.  
  
"I don't know" Heero said, his eyes still staring into space "I might have"  
  
Even though she knew Relena was dead, hearing that hurt her. He said he might've loved her. Well, Trin wouldn't be surprised if he still did.  
  
"She died because of me." he added bluntly. "I was supposed to be on the shuttle, but last second I had to leave. He was after me. That's why he crashed shuttle. But I wasn't on it, and Relena died instead"  
  
Trin listened intently, not daring to interrupt. She suddenly understood why he didn't want to be called the "Perfect Soldier". It all made sense now.  
  
Looking down, she realized she was still holding his hand, his fingers were clenching hers firmly.  
  
"It wasn't your fault" she told him, when he fell silent. He didn't respond. "It wasn't your fault, Heero," she repeated as she kissed his hand and pressed against his chest, hoping to console him and relieve his pain.  
  
Heero absently squeezed her hand. He was still reliving the nightmare.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Okay, that was my attempt at fluff people. I know I'm hopeless at it, but I tried. So tell me what you think, kay? Most importantly, I tried making it fluffy and still keeping Heero in character. Did I succeed? Because I'm thinking of revising it. Sarah, thanks so much again! ^.~ Oh and Alexia Goddess, you will never believe how happy I am I sent that chapter to you! ::hugs:: ^^; I'll explain later!  
  
Ja all!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Arion~ 


	17. Fever

Heero awoke early the next morning. The room was only barely lit up with early rays of sunlight and the shadows in the corners were still dark as night. He started to get up but was stopped by something weighing him down. He turned his head and froze upon seeing Trin asleep next to him. In *his* bed.  
  
He was about to get up when he noticed she didn't look normal. Her skin was pale and her entire body was shaking. Her breathing was shallow and before his hand even touched her forehead he could feel the heat searing off of her body.  
  
He nudged her gently and her eyes opened slowly. She winced; the light seemed bright and hurt her eyes. She squirmed as Heero lifted her and carried her to her own bed. He knew it was probably best not to move her, but the perfect soldier inside him won.  
  
"Heero, I'm cold" she complained as he laid her down.  
  
"You have a fever" he explained as he covered her with a blanket.  
  
"Then why am I cold?"  
  
Heero ignored her question and headed for the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" she asked and pulled herself up onto one elbow.  
  
"I'll be back. Stay awake" he said and softly closed the door behind him.  
  
  
  
He returned in a few moments with a glass of water and two pills. He helped her sit up and handed her the pills. She took them with distaste and drank some water. Heero set the glass onto the table.  
  
"Sleep," he instructed, and turned to go back to his bed.  
  
Her hand on his arm was so light that he didn't feel it at first. "Heero," she whispered. "I don't want to be alone. I wouldn't be able to take it if I had another dream or vision, or whatever they are."  
  
He stared at her for a moment, then pulled up a chair next to her bed.  
  
"Go to sleep," he repeated his previous order.  
  
This time she complied, and closed her tired eyes, immediately falling asleep.  
  
As he watched her sleep, he recalled the day that she had teased him about being the perfect soldier. He wasn't perfect. He hadn't been, not since Relena, and not since he had met Trin. He knew Doctor J wouldn't like it and he wasn't sure if he himself did.  
  
He remembered people telling him that no one could be perfect. But he was, he had to be. It was the only way to succeed in a war. He couldn't keep letting his guard down like this, it would get him killed; the others as well.  
  
But on the inside, he wasn't perfect. In fact, he was so far from perfect that it was as if he had two different people living in the same body: the emotionless soldier, and the lost boy.  
  
When Relena died, it was as if his only grip on the real world had been broken. He had retreated inside himself, hiding behind the mask of the soldier who never failed, the one everyone thought was perfect.  
  
And then when he thought his human half was lost forever, Trin came. She wasn't like Relena, but perhaps, she was better. It scared him when something inside him began to stir, as if awakening from a deep sleep. He had been the perfect soldier for so long he wasn't sure he wanted to be anything else. Besides, he wasn't sure he could handle it if she died as well. He hated feeling helpless, just like she said in the wild nightmare he had had. But here she was, sick, maybe dying, and he couldn't do anything about it.  
  
She cried out in her sleep once, and Heero reached to take her hand, to do anything to calm her, and yet the emotionless soldier stopped him again. He was so confused.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin awoke later in the afternoon, feeling hot and sticky. She kicked the blanket off of her. The door was opened barely an inch and upon seeing she was awake, swung open. Duo flew into the room, followed by Acire and almost everyone else.  
  
"I'm not hungry" Trin said when she saw Quatre in the doorway with a tray of food. Her voice was rough and she coughed harshly. The Arabian sighed and turned back to the kitchen.  
  
"Trin!" Acire shrieked. "You're alive!"  
  
Trin visibly grimaced.  
  
"Just a *little* softer"  
  
"Sorry," she said with an embarrassed grin.  
  
"So how you feelin', babe?" Duo asked as he leaned against the bedpost.  
  
"Did someone get the license plate number of that gundam?" she grumbled.  
  
The Deathscythe pilot chuckled.  
  
"That bad, huh?"  
  
"No," Trin snapped. "worse."  
  
Duo winced. "Ow"  
  
Trin sat up slowly. Her vision was fuzzy and she had trouble hearing.  
  
"Did one of you poison me?" she demanded, glaring somewhere in the general direction of Wufei.  
  
"Trin, don't be ridiculous" Quatre said as he reappeared in the doorway.  
  
The brunette grumbled something incoherent as she tried to get comfortable. Trowa stuck around long enough to take her temperature and left soon after. Out in the hallway Heero leaned against the wall, hidden by the shadows.  
  
"One hundred and four" he reported and Heero cursed angrily.  
  
"What do you think?" he asked Trowa.  
  
"I don't know" he replied thoughtfully "She was fine last night"  
  
"That doesn't help" Heero told him icily "It's our mission to protect them, we can't let her die"  
  
"We're not going to let her die, Heero," Trowa replied, logical as ever.  
  
"Hn" the Wing Zero pilot replied "What are you gonna do about it?"  
  
Trowa paused.  
  
Heero glared at him.  
  
"You don't know what to do, do you?" he accused angrily.  
  
"Not yet" Trowa admitted.  
  
Heero's eyes fell to the floor. "Neither do I."  
  
He stared at the floor for a long moment. Finally, he looked past Trowa at the wall and said, "What now?"  
  
Inside the room, they heard Trin yelling at Wufei despite her sore throat. He had picked a bad time to drop one of his 'weak onna' comments.  
  
Heero entered the room, and Trowa could hear him yelling at the Shenlong pilot. Trin began yelling at Heero for interrupting her yelling at Wufei, and Quatre, Duo, and Acire quickly left the room. "Think we should stop them?" Trowa asked.  
  
"Nah," Duo replied.  
  
"I think it's cute" Acire added and received several strange glances.  
  
"Yeah," Duo added with a sly grin. "It's like a lover's quarrel."  
  
Suddenly Wufei was kicked out of the room as Trin broke into a cough.  
  
"You should sleep" Heero told her as he shut the door.  
  
"I don't want to sleep" she grumbled and folded her arms across her chest, once again attracting his attention to the ugly bruise on her shoulder.  
  
Heero turned away slightly, averting his gaze from the wound. Trin's voice was scratchy from yelling as she asked, "Heero? Something wrong?"  
  
"No," he replied quickly. "Does that hurt?" he asked quietly, indicating her shoulder.  
  
"It's fine," she replied. It was a subject both of them avoided now.  
  
"I'm sorry," he finally said, and then went to his side of the room.  
  
She turned over onto her stomach so she could watch him. He felt her eyes on him and turned around.  
  
"What?" he asked, reaching to open his laptop.  
  
"What is it with you and that laptop?" she asked in annoyance. "It's like you're glued to it"  
  
His hand paused. "That's classified," he finally said, unable to come up with anything else.  
  
"You know," Trin began, as he started to type rapidly, "whenever you're not on that, you act like a completely different person. Do you like to be alone or something?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
"Fine, I'll shut up" She could understand if he did. She hated being around people sometimes as well.  
  
Turning over onto her back she closed her eyes and began to drift asleep, listening to the rhythmic tapping of the keys.  
  
* * *  
  
Waking up was painful when she opened her eyes later that evening. Her head felt like it was going to split in half and she could swear the room was swaying slightly. Despite the headache she remembered why she woke up; she thought she had heard a noise. But as she strained her slightly ringing ears, she didn't hear anything.  
  
Trin smoothed her somewhat sweaty hair out of her eyes. She hated this. It was unbearably hot in the small room and Heero hadn't opened a single window. It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe; her throat felt clogged and her lungs seemed to shrink. The walls appeared to sway back and worth, as if threatening to collapse onto her. She had to get out of here, she suddenly realized.  
  
Trin slowly crawled out from under the covers and tiptoed to the closet. She quickly changed into a pair of stretchy jeans and a blue tank top, also pulling on a pair of sneakers. Absentmindedly, she took the dragon blade Heero had given her, and slipped it under her jean leg; securing it with a bandana. Then carefully opening the door she peered out into the hallway. Thankfully there was no one there and after neatly closing the door after her, she crept down the hall, trying not to make any noise. She felt unsteady and had to hold onto the wall as she went down the stairway.  
  
At the bottom of the stairs she looked around once again and after not spotting anyone snuck out of the front door. The light evening breeze felt good against her hot skin and it was a little easier to breathe outside. She continued down the dirt path as quickly as her aching body would let her, not realizing that she was taking the path toward the forest.  
  
* * *  
  
Acire sat near the open window in her and Duo's room, flipping through a magazine lazily. Their room was right over the front porch and she looked down upon hearing the door open and close. Her eyes widened with surprise and confusion as she saw Trin walk down the steps unsteadily and continue down the path toward the forest. There were a couple of things wrong with this picture. A, they weren't supposed to go anywhere without at least one of the pilots accompanying them. And B, Trin was incredibly sick; she shouldn't be wondering around outside.  
  
Acire quickly jumped to her feet and ran down the hall. She knew she should tell the others, but it was either that or catching Trin. She chose Trin.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin continued down the path, not really realizing or caring where she was going. Suddenly strong hands grabbed her from behind and pinned her arms to her sides. She thrashed weakly, but was too delirious to put up much of a struggle. A hand clapped over her mouth and she was dragged deeper into the woods away from the path. There in the darkness, she made out a van. Its door slid open and she was handed to another pair arms. They pulled her inside and the door slammed shut. The last thing she felt before she past out were someone's rough lips on hers.  
  
* * *  
  
In the back, one of the men pushed Shane off of Trin harshly.  
  
"You'll kill her! Can't you see she can hardly breathe as it is!" he hissed angrily at Shane. Shane didn't answer as he stroked her cheek. 'What did they do to you?' he thought.  
  
Suddenly the driver turned to them.  
  
"There's the other one," he said as he pointed to out the window. "Just like the Boss predicted"  
  
The others looked where he pointed and saw Acire walking slowly down the path in the distance. Two of the men jumped out of the van and in a few moments came back with Acire unconscious in their arms.  
  
"Let's get out of here" the driver said briskly as the door slid shut once more. He revved the engine and sped through the woods toward a jet hidden on the other side of the island.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Woo hoo! I've been itching to get to this part!! So tell me, like? Hate? OCC? Chapter 18 will be out soon, I promise! Also, HUGE thanks to Demon Faerie Aeryka!! I don't know what I'd do without you, thanks so much!!  
  
But let me be serious for a moment. You know how it feels when your fic, or picture you've worked so hard on is copied by someone and posted as theirs? No? Well maybe you know someone who has. Please help prevent this and check out The Avengers (search under 'Author') or go to http://www.geocities.com/Avengers_Unite/ Ja!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Arion~ 


	18. Revelations

With some difficulty she opened her eyes, her eyelids feeling heavy and tired. Something restrained her chest, making it even more difficult for her to breathe. She felt similar bounds on her wrists and ankles.  
  
The room she was in was shadowy, the lights in every corner of the room being dimmed to near darkness. The floor was thinly carpeted and she saw the wall out of a corner of her eye, was made of stone.  
  
In an attempt to raise her head, dull pain erupted in the base of her neck and her head fell backward.  
  
"Trin? Are you awake?"  
  
Her head rolled to the right as she looked for the source of the voice. About two meters away was a steel chair, nailed to the floor. As she squinted her eyes against the blurriness, she made out Acire's face and the restrains on her wrists and ankles. Acire however, did not have any other bounds.  
  
"Yeah" Trin finally forced out. Her throat was dry and scratchy. "Where are we?"  
  
"I don't know" her friend responded. By her voice Trin could tell, she was near hysteria.  
  
"How'd we get there?" Despite her condition Trin was attempting to think clearly. She knew she had to stay rational, because Acire was useless in intense situations such as this.  
  
"I, I followed you into the woods and," she choked back a dry sob "and then someone knocked me out. When I woke up I was in this room. At first I thought, oh god, I thought they killed you"  
  
"Calm down. They want us alive" the brunette croaked.  
  
Suddenly the door to the room swung open with a bang and the lights brightened slightly. Several pairs of feet entered the room and stopped before them. Someone's gloved hand took Trin by the chin and lifted her head into an upright position. Through her blurry vision, she saw a silhouette in front of her. A man; judging by the muscular complexion.  
  
"Ah yes, you're awake" he spoke. His voice sounded dull and metallic to her. She groaned as another hand pulled down her eyelids one by one and someone inspected her eyeballs.  
  
"Don't worry you'll feel better soon" the same person spoke. She felt a cold prick of a needle in her upper arm and then the footsteps retreated back out the door and the lights dimmed to full darkness. Trin's eyes fell closed once again and she slipped into the obscurity.  
  
* * *  
  
"Heero, calm down!" Quatre cried in alarm as Heero tore apart the living room.  
  
The crash of a lamp breaking against the wall dangerously near his head, answered him. The house looked like there had been a battle there. Heero flew into rage when the girls were found missing with no traces of them anywhere on the island. He silently blamed himself for not watching them close enough, and he was furious. It meant he had failed in completing the mission. He had let his guard down, and it had cost him the mission, just like he knew it would.  
  
"Yuy!" Wufei cried angrily as he grabbed Heero's arm. Heero glared at him angrily and in a flash his fist connected with Wufei's face.  
  
Before anything else could happen, Duo lunged in between the two.  
  
"Stop it, damn it!" he cried "Our main objective is to find them as soon as possible and we'll never be able to do that if we turn on each other!"  
  
Heero glared at him, then straightened after a moment.  
  
"Quatre, Trowa, look over the beach again. Duo and Wufei, take the north and the west part of the forest and I will take the south and the east. Move!" he ordered rapidly, returning back to his normal, commander state.  
  
Without another word, everyone went as they were told. Wufei cursed in Chinese under his breath, but complied. He knew the mission came first.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin was awoken as rough hands lifted her out of the chair and dragged her down the hallway. After a few moments of walking they entered a room and she was thrown into a chair again and strapped in; Acire was put into an identical steel chair next to her. She blinked against the brightness of the room, suddenly realizing her vision was no longer blurry. With surprise she realized she had felt completely healthy except for a dull headache as opposed to earlier that day when she sincerely thought she was going to die.  
  
As her eyes finally adjusted to the intensity of light in the room, she saw a man walk through the doorway. A strange metal mask covered the upper half of his face, so that only his eyes were visible. He smiled as he stopped in front of Trin.  
  
"Feeling better, are you? Good. I needed you to be one hundred percent for the procedure" he sneered as he looked at her thoughtfully.  
  
Trin's eyes lit up with fire as realization sank in.  
  
"What did you do to me?" she demanded as she shot up from her slouched position, the bounds once again restraining her.  
  
"A harmless virus, that's all" he grinned as he watched her struggle in enjoyment.  
  
Trin glared at him, her eyes full of hatred. "At the carnival," she stated simply.  
  
His grin grew wider. "Clever girl."  
  
"I knew I wouldn't have a problem restraining your friend here, but you, I wasn't so sure" he continued as he circled her slowly. "I couldn't have you messing up my plans, now could I?"  
  
Trin's fists clenched she listened. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.  
  
"How did you know where we were after we relocated?"  
  
He chuckled. "Aren't you just full of questions? A tracker attached to one of the gundams, simple as that. I figured we'd attack before they traced it"  
  
"Now. I'm right to understand you have been protected by none other than Heero Yuy and his team?" he questioned as he stopped in front of her again. She didn't answer as she continued to glare at him.  
  
"Would you like to tell me where Heero is? Because I doubt they're still on that island"  
  
"Fuck you" she snarled.  
  
He frowned.  
  
"Now what kind of language is that?"  
  
Her blood boiled. How she wished she could strangle him right now. She knew of course Heero wouldn't be on the island. After searching it and not finding them, they would most likely return to the base where Dorothy and the others were. She had overheard them talking, and she knew it was somewhere on the east coast of America. Heero had also given her the number of the base, incase something like this happened. She knew it by heart.  
  
Realizing he wasn't going to get anything out of her by simply talking, he got up and walked over to Acire. He looked at her for a moment, then swiftly slapped her across the face. The girl cried out as her head snapped to the side.  
  
Trin clenched her fists tighter, feeling her nails puncture the skin. With another swift gesture, his hand clasped over Acire's nose and mouth. The girl belt in her chair, struggling to get a single breath of air. Trin's eyes widened. He wanted them alive, so he wouldn't kill her. Would he? She didn't have much time to consider her options as she saw Acire's face turn a faint shade of blue. If she gave him the wrong location it might buy them some time, but he might be able hack into a top-secret government database and find that no such base existed. The only good option seemed to be for her to tell him the phone number. She couldn't risk her friend's life. Silently she asked the pilots to forgive her.  
  
"All I know is a phone number" she said stiffly. He smiled with satisfaction and let go of Acire, the girl gasping the air hungrily. He pressed a button on the wall and a steel panel moved, revealing a screen.  
  
"Why don't we call Heero now, eh?" he said as his hand paused over the keyboard. Trin glared at him and with some difficulty spat out the numbers. He punched them in and waited as the computer processed the call.  
  
"Yuy" the familiar monotone on the other end answered, the screen still blank. Trin's head dropped. She had hoped they wouldn't answer.  
  
"Ah, Heero Yuy. Very good" he smiled. "I guess I won't have to kill you after all" he added, as he looked at Trin.  
  
The screen flickered and an image of Heero appeared, the other pilots joining him. Their eyes widened as they saw the masked man with Trin and Acire tied up in the background.  
  
"Who are you?" Heero snapped.  
  
The man chuckled once again.  
  
"You should know who I am, Heero" he said. Heero's eyes widened slightly. His voice sounded so familiar.  
  
"Now, I don't want you boys trying anything, I'll deal with you later. Keep in mind, I can kill them anytime"  
  
As to prove this, he gestured to one of the guards by the door. He walked forward and heavily slapped Trin across the face. A trickle of blood formed in the corner of her mouth. An angry growl escaped her throat as she lunged forward, testing her limits once more. The guard backed away in surprise.  
  
"I'll kill you all, I swear" the brunette growled, glaring daggers at them.  
  
The man grinned. "And how will you do that, my dear?"  
  
"There'll come a time you'll wish you never asked that" she hissed.  
  
"Pretty big words for a little lady such as yourself" he taunted. Turning back to the screen he glanced at the clock at the bottom corner. It read 'Call Length: 50 seconds'.  
  
"I think I've made my point clear, now if you excuse me, I've got some business to attend to with the girls"  
  
With that, he hit a button and the image of the pilots disappeared.  
  
* * *  
  
"Goddamn it!" Duo cried as he punched the wall in rage.  
  
"Wait a minute. Look"  
  
Everyone turned to look at the bottom of the screen where Trowa was pointing. There must've been a malfunction, because the computer showed that the line was still connected. They watched tensely as the computer searched for the source. Suddenly it beeped and information came up. A dark glow appeared in Heero's eyes.  
  
"Gotcha"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Hey! Well here's Ch. 18, hope you liked! So are things starting to make sense? Also, Ch. 2 for Silent Assassin will be up later tonight, so check that out if you want. AND, I'm working on a new GW ficcy, so I hope to have that up soon. ^^ I'm so excited, I finally watched the first four episodes of GW!! And they're so KAWAII! I'm gonna go watch 'em again! Ja!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Arion~ 


	19. Scattered

With a snap the man in a white lab coat pulled the rubber gloves onto his hands. Trin and Acire were strapped down to two metallic beds in a lab of some sort; once again Trin's restrains thicker and heavier than Acire's. The man in the mask leaned against the wall watching them, his form hidden in the shadows. Guards stood on each side of the entrance to the lab, and more were out in the hall. With this kind of security there was no way they could escape on their own.  
  
Trin glared up at the white mass that was towering over her. The doctor looked down into her burning eyes and immediately averted his gaze. He rubbed a part of her upper arm and neck with a cotton ball soaked with disinfectant. Next Trin saw him pick up an empty syringe and before she knew what was happening excruciating pain erupted in her neck as he inserted the needle into an artery. She knew the same thing was happening to Acire by the scream full of agony that pierced the air. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, not willing to give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream.  
  
As suddenly as it had come, the pain subsided and Trin's tense muscles relaxed slightly. A bandage was placed over the place where her skin was punctured. And just when she thought they were going to release them from the restrains, she felt something cold press into the skin on her upper arm and cut. Acire whimpered in pain, but once again Trin kept her mouth shut. Compared to the pain she had felt in her neck, this was nothing.  
  
Once done, the doctor placed another bandage on her arm. Guards walked up to the beds and released them, swiftly placing handcuffs on both of the girls. As they stood, two guards held Trin from the sides and two more watched her from the back and the front, while Acire was simply slumped over the shoulder of one of them.  
  
The man in the mask held up his hand and the guards stopped short of the door. He walked around them and stood in front of Trin, cupping her chin with his hand. She glared at him and he smiled once again.  
  
"Well we're done with you my dear," he chuckled, "But I won't kill you just yet"  
  
He let go of her face and motioned for the guards to take them away. As they were being dragged down the hall, a silhouette stepped out of a neighboring room and looked at the man demandingly.  
  
"You're done with her, she's mine" he stated.  
  
The man sniggered and in a matter of seconds Shane was held down by a pair of guards, handcuffs locking around his wrists.  
  
"No, she's not"  
  
"We had a deal!" Shane shouted as he was taken away. He cursed sharply. "We had a goddamn deal!"  
  
His arms folded, the man turned his back on Shane just as a pair of guards rushed to him through he hall.  
  
"Sir! There has been a malfunction in the system! We have reason to believe the gundams are on their way!" one of them shouted as he saluted.  
  
"Huh" the man murmured as he stroked his chin.  
  
"Sir! Should we initiate a lockdown?" the second soldier shouted and saluted as well.  
  
"No, that won't be necessary" the man replied after a moment of thought. "That won't be necessary at all"  
  
"Uh, sir?" the first soldier spoke up hesitantly.  
  
"Just follow me. I'll explain on the way"  
  
* * *  
  
Heero sat inside his cockpit as Wing Zero soared through the sky. His eyes were closed and his arms folded. He briefly looked up at the screen as a computerized voice informed him that they were half an hour away from the destination. He went over the plan once more in his head. It was simple, really; Quatre creates a distraction, Wufei and Trowa take care of the guards while he and Duo rescue Trin and Acire. He didn't have a good feeling about this mission. Something was bound to go wrong.  
  
A small smirk appeared on his face as he recalled seeing Trin during the short phone call. Even though she was held captive she still hadn't lost that aggressiveness and spunk of her personality. He also noted that she had seemed completely healthy; which meant the virus had something to do with the people who kidnapped them. He frowned as he tried to figure out who the man in the mask was. It was not Zechs Marquise, he knew that much. True enough Zechs wore a similar mask on his face, but it was not he. Heero could feel that it was someone he knew, probably from his past and it frustrated him that he couldn't remember whom. His memory was full of shadows, all swirling and not making any sense. He dug deeper into his brain, trying desperately to remember. The shadows spun and danced, as if taunting him. They were just beginning to mix together, to form a picture, when Trowa's voice cut into his trance. The shadows sprung back, swirling once again. Heero cursed sharply and opened on the communication link.  
  
"What?" he snapped.  
  
"We're flying over the base, Heero" Trowa replied calmly.  
  
"Begin descending" Heero ordered.  
  
* * *  
  
Sandrock was the first to land. Sure enough the guarding mobile dolls flew out of the base and straight at him. Remembering the plan, Quatre turned as if to flee. At that moment Shenlong and Heavyarms came down on the mobile dolls, destroying them. Seeing that the passageway was clear, Wing Zero and Deathscythe dove down into the base's entrance.  
  
The gundams fought off the Aeries and Leos that attempted to stop them in the hallway, but there were very few. Quickly they came to an elevator that led down into the underground chambers where Trin and Acire were most likely kept.  
  
"I'm going in, watch over the gundams" Heero instructed, and without hesitation leapt out of the gundam and into the elevator.  
  
"Hey wait a minute!" Duo cried, but the click of the elevator's doors closing answered him.  
  
He shook his head and sighed. Suddenly there was an explosion and the floor underneath him collapsed, taking Deathscythe and Wing Zero falling into the darkness. They didn't fall for more than a few seconds, but when the gundams hit the ground, the seatbelts tore and Duo was thrown onto the dashboard of his gundam. His head hit the gundanium with a sickening thud and he blacked out.  
  
* * *  
  
Heero lunged out of the elevator the second the doors began to slide open. He was greeted with a shower of bullets. He cursed as he dove to the side and grabbed his gun; he was expected. He peered out from behind the column and his eyes widened as he saw the whole room was swarming with soldiers.  
  
Quickly considering his options, he formulated a plan and dove out from behind the shelter of the column. Immediately four soldiers jumped onto his back, one of them knocking the gun out of his hand. Heero elbowed the closest to him in the stomach and then used him to throw two more off of him. The last held firmly onto Heero's neck in an attempt to choke him. In one swift motion Heero pried the soldier away from him and broke his neck.  
  
More soldiers headed his way and he quickly lunged for his gun. But before he could grab it, a bullet sliced through the air and grazed his side just below the ribs, not actually embedding into the flesh.  
  
Heero fell to the floor, his hand just inches away from the gun. He reached for it, but another bullet implanted itself in his upper arm and another near his elbow. He grunted in pain and his head shot up to see his attacker. A shadow stood over him; he could not make out the anything else in the dimness of the room. His head snapped to the side as he was hit with the end of a gun. Blood trickled down his face and stung his left eye, blinding him.  
  
Heero attempted to get up, but the person kicked him in the stomach. A crack indicated that he must have broken a few of Heero's ribs. The last thing he heard before he was hit on the head once again and blacked out, was a cold, blood-chilling laugh. And the last thing that drifted through his clouded mind, was the realization that he had failed a mission once again.  
  
* * *  
  
Heavyarms and Shenlong fought off the Aeries, Leos and mobile dolls that came at them. Sandrock came to their aid shortly after Heero and Duo had disappeared inside the base, but no matter how many they destroyed, more kept coming. The earth and sky seemed black with the suits, explosions lit up the surroundings here and there.  
  
"Damn it, what's taking Yuy so long?" Wufei cursed as he sliced through an Aeries.  
  
Heavyarms had long that ran out of ammo, Sandrock even though built for ground combat was pretty beat up, it's left arm disabled along with one of the shotels. And Shenlong's right knee was malfunctioning, keeping him from moving quickly. They could not hold out for much longer.  
  
* * *  
  
Quatre sighed as he sliced trough two more Leos. He wasn't the one to like battle or violence, but it was necessary and he knew it. As smoke from an explosion began to clear, a mobile suit was seen coming his way. Quatre squinted, trying to make out what suit it was. Not able to see anything, he glanced at his screen. His eyes widened.  
  
"It's a Serpent," he whispered.  
  
The computer beeped and he looked back at the screen, to see that more Serpents approaching. Normally a Serpent was no match for a gundam, but not when they were this beat up. Quatre braced himself for battle.  
  
The gundams fought, slashing through suit after suit in fury, but the newly arrived Serpents were too much for them. Before long they were overpowered and pinned to the ground. Neither of them had a chance to self detonate, for as soon as they hit the ground, the cockpit was forced open and sleeping gas was injected inside, instantly putting each of them to sleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Well what do you think? Hope you liked it ^^ Also I updated "Silent Assassin" as well, for those who would like to read it. So, I got nothin' else to say, except, please review! Ja minna-chans!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Arion~ 


	20. Last Impressions Part I

The first thing that occurred to Trin when she opened her eyes, was the painful feeling of discomfort. She groaned softly and struggled to sit up, realizing that she was lying on her side on a cold floor. She guessed they must have knocked her out so she wouldn't memorize the way to where she was now held. Also realizing she was still in handcuffs, she muttered curses under her breath as she rotated her shoulders leisurely, trying to wake up her stiff body. She surveyed the room slowly.  
  
It was cold, and the walls were covered with droplets of precipitation. There was no windows, therefore no light. The walls were plain stone, as was the floor. The front wall of the room was made up of thick steel bars, only about half an inch apart.  
  
Acire was taken to a separate cell, not even on that same floor, as far as Trin knew and she was worried about her friend. She was near hysterics, last time she saw her. Trin knew that she couldn't defend herself either, and she feared the guards would try to rape her. The man did say that he was finished with them, so theoretically there was nothing stopping them.  
  
"Trin"  
  
She jumped and turned around, startled, to see Heero hunched in a corner of the cell.  
  
"Heero," her breath caught in her throat "What are you doing here?"  
  
Heero didn't answer, but she didn't need him to. She understood they had tried to rescue them and got captured. She bit her lip as she looked over his battered body, noting all his injuries and his shallow breathing. He was in handcuffs as well, and by the fact that he hadn't ripped them, she guessed they were strong.  
  
Trin's mind wandered to how in movies the heroine always pulls out a hairclip and picks the lock, when it hit her. She pulled her right leg as close to her as she could and turning halfway around, reached down. With some difficulty, she pulled up her jean leg and after a few more seconds, her fingers curled around something and she wrenched it free. The object left a bloody cut on her leg, but she ignored in, and smiled in satisfaction at the blade in her hand.  
  
"Can you use this to pick the handcuffs?" she asked as she turned to Heero.  
  
He studied the blade for a moment, than nodded.  
  
"Come closer to me"  
  
Trin opened her mouth to protest, but remembering his injuries, decided against it. Painfully slowly, she began moving across the floor toward him.  
  
"Hurry up." he said in his monotone soldier's voice. "We probably don't have much time."  
  
"I'd watch it if I were you. You need me and my blade to get your handcuffs off, remember?" she smirked as she continued to edge toward him.  
  
Heero muttered something under his breath in Japanese and her smirk grew wider. She was willing to bet that at least one of those things was 'omae o korosu'.  
  
Trin was moving so slowly that it frustrated her possibly more than it did Heero. Tired of it, she stopped and skillfully pulled her legs through the circle her arms made, resulting in her arms no longer hooked behind her back. With satisfaction, she continued forward. When she was inches away from him, her wrist suddenly buckled under her and she fell forward, landing on Heero. The impact of her body against his, caused him to fall backwards. Trin blushed a crimson red in the darkness, as Heero cursed left and right in both English and Japanese. She mumbled a quick apology and struggled to get off of him. Heero attempted the same, but both of them being handcuffed, this was no easy task.  
  
Involuntarily, Trin looked up and into his blue eyes. Her body froze, as did his. She felt her heartbeat quicken and her lips parted, allowing more air into her seemingly tighter-than-normal, chest. This was the third time they were this close, and she wondered if he was going to kiss her. She knew she shouldn't think like that, she should pull away; but she couldn't. Something in his eyes always kept her looking into them, no matter how hard she tried to look away. Something didn't feel right however, something bothered her. Suddenly a thought hit her and before she could do anything, the question slipped out,  
  
"Heero, do I remind you of Relena?"  
  
The few seconds that he took to answer were like agonizing hours to her. If she did remind him of Relena, then it meant he still hadn't let go. It also meant that whatever they had, was close to nothing. She licked her dry lips as she waited for him to answer. Hoping and praying that he would.  
  
"In a way" Heero finally replied.  
  
She blinked and tried to swallow the ball that had formed in her throat as her mind registered what he had said. So that was it. What she had somehow hoped for, but also something she prayed wasn't true. She had always knew it was best to stay single and not get too close to anyone. But it was too late now, without realizing it she had fallen in love with Heero, but he was only holding onto the memory of who she was now sure was his girlfriend.  
  
A long adopted glaze covered her eyes, keeping what she was feeling to herself, and she pulled back.  
  
"Here" she said coolly as she handed him the blade.  
  
Heero took it silently; unaware of the sudden change in her, unaware of how quickly she withdrew.  
  
In a matter of seconds his handcuffs were off and in a few more seconds, so were hers. She massaged her raw wrists and stood. Heero's eyes narrowed as he noticed the fresh bandages on her arm and neck.  
  
"What is this?" he asked as he touched one of the bandages.  
  
"Nothing" she answered, pulling away rather quickly.  
  
"Hn" Heero did not seem satisfied with the answer; he swiftly grabbed her elbow unwrapped one of the bandages to reveal that a small square of skin was missing on her arm.  
  
Trin glared at him and pulled away, angrily wrapping the bandage back into its place.  
  
"I wonder what they need my skin for" she mumbled.  
  
"DNA, probably" Heero answered simply as he walked toward the front of the room.  
  
'DNA…' Trin thought, 'What are they-?'  
  
A metal click sounded through the room and she turned around just in time to see Heero open the door. He tossed her the blade and carefully peered into the hallway.  
  
"No guards as far as visibility ranges" he said over his shoulder as Trin approached him.  
  
"Confident we won't escape, are they?" she sneered.  
  
"Hn"  
  
Staying a few steps behind, Trin followed Heero down the hall; ready to defend herself against any attack, at any moment.  
  
* * *  
  
Duo was awoken to the sound of sobbing. He struggled to open his eyes, now aware of the dull pain in his head. Once his eyelids opened, his vision focused on a pale face of a girl leaning over him. Her features seemingly brightened upon seeing his eyes open and as he sat up, she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder.  
  
"I really thought they killed you, Duo" she sobbed as she hugged him.  
  
Duo put his arms around her clumsily, confusion still clouding his brain.  
  
"Um, Acire, what happened?" he asked after a few moments and gave her a puzzled grin.  
  
Acire pulled away from him slightly and wiped the tears from her eyes.  
  
"All I know is me and Trin were taken out of the lab when someone hit me on the head and I blacked out, then woke up here with you on the floor" she choked back a sob "I thought I lost you"  
  
Taken aback, Duo had remained silent for a little while, but then grinned.  
  
"It'll take more than that to kill the Shinigami" he said as he pulled her closer to him.  
  
Acire laughed quietly as fresh tears fell down her cheeks.  
  
"You'll never lose me" Duo murmured reassuringly, "I love you"  
  
The girl froze and pulled away from him, looking up into his soft cobalt eyes; searching for any sign of insincerity or trickery. Her lips broke into a smile, as she found none.  
  
"I love you too," she whispered as she leaned closer to him, until their lips met.  
  
They didn't know for how long they were engrossed in the kiss, but abruptly they were interrupted by a rasping chuckle.  
  
"Aw, isn't that sweet" a voice mocked, "Get 'er"  
  
Suddenly they were torn apart, strong hands holding both of them. Acire was grabbed by the shoulders and roughly dragged out of the cell, as three more men held Duo back. She cried out desperately and fought, somehow managing to break out of the grasp. Angered, the man grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. She fell, her head hitting the floor with a crack.  
  
"Acire!" Duo cried out hoarsely. He fought his captors desperately, but they were too strong, he was too tired, and the handcuffs on his wrists were cutting down on his movement.  
  
He was thrown into a corner of the cell as the men turned and left. He subsided, tears forming in his eyes.  
  
"No.." he whispered, then cried out in agony on top of his lungs, "No!"  
  
No one heard.  
  
* * *  
  
Shane crept down the dark hallway silently. He had managed to break out of his cell fairly easy; he still had the keys after all. A smirk stretched across his lips. 'He's not as smart at he thinks he is'. He dropped a bloody knife as he continued to walk. The guards were no problem either.  
  
He froze silently as a sound reached Shane's ears. A voice, barely audible, but he heard it. His heart beat faster; he would recognize that voice anywhere. Looking around, he spotted a door slightly adrift and ducked inside. The small room was empty. Perfect.  
  
Soft catlike footsteps reached the door and continued down the hall. A second set of footsteps approached and he positioned himself beside the door. Just as the person had passed, he swung open the door, swiftly yet still so quietly. His arms locked around the silhouette in front of him and he dragged the person inside.  
  
Shane's one hand immediately clasped the person's mouth and the other found its way under the shirt.  
  
"Hello Trinity"  
  
* * *  
  
Acire's eyes opened, but she saw nothing apart from darkness. Her joins cramped of discomfort and sweat ran down her face. Attempting to stretch, she raised her arms, but as soon as she did, they hit a barricade. She shrugged and bent her feet, her knees immediately hitting against something. Beginning to panic, she raised her hands slightly, and felt her surroundings. The ceiling was only a few inches above her face and breathing heavily, she pushed on it. At first it wouldn't bulge, but then as it moved slightly, a slight crack appeared to her left. She turned her head as she felt something on her shoulder. Her mouth froze open in silent horror as she saw dirt and worms pour in. She dropped the lid. It caught a fat brown worm and it writhed in front of her.  
  
She began to scream as realization sunk in.  
  
Buried alive.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: First of all, gomen nasai! I wish I could get the chapter up sooner, but this is a critical point in the fic and I need it to turn out just the way I want it. I hope it was worth it and you liked it ^^ The next one will be up much sooner.  
  
Luv,  
  
~Arion~ 


	21. Last Impressions Part II

"I love you, you know. From the very first time you walked into my class two years ago, I've loved you" Shane spoke as his hand searches for her bra. "I got you gifts for you birthday, I put cards in your locker for Valentine's Day. I offered to drive you home everyday, but you never loved me. You never went to a single dance with me, not one date. I have a room dedicated to you, for fuck's sake, you know that?!" he cried angrily. "But you, you little bitch, you don't deserve any of it. Now I'm gonna make you love me, I'm gonna make you."  
  
Something wasn't right, his eyes widened. Something was missing; he felt rock hard abs, muscles, but no bra or breasts. 'Oh shit…' floated through his mind. How could he have made such a mistake? Just then he was elbowed hard in the ribs. Bending over slightly, his hand loot the hold on the mouth. He was slammed against the wall and the only thing he could see in the darkness were two blue orbs, dancing with Prussian fire.  
  
"Omae o korosu"  
  
* * *  
  
Trin stood in the cold, dark, hallway. She leaned against the wall as she waited for Heero. He had sensed someone ahead and told her to switch places with him. She didn't protest, and he had proceeded to disappear. Standing in a deserted hallway where she could be attacked at any moment did not exactly appeal to her, but being around Heero was worse. With time she had learned to suppress her feelings, but she wished she could block them out all together. There was a time where she could be able to do that, but after meeting Heero she had seemed to lose that ability, and it angered her. She still envied him, wishing she could be like him; a perfect soldier with no need to worry about pesky things like feelings. She sighed in aggravation and shifted her weight to another foot.  
  
She heard footsteps and turned, her fists ready. Trin relaxed as she saw it was only Heero. She saw blood seep out of the side of his mouth and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What happened to you?" she asked reluctantly.  
  
He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, "Nothing"  
  
Ignoring the comment, she followed him down the hall.  
  
"What now?"  
  
"We find the others"  
  
"Simple enough"  
  
* * *  
  
Duo was huddled in the corner of his cell where he was thrown. He didn't know how long it's been, there was nothing but darkness and pain for him. The sound of footsteps and someone calling his name brought him back to reality. He lifted his head and saw Trin.  
  
"Duo" she called again in a hushed whisper. He stood unsteadily and staggered toward her.  
  
"Hey Duo, you okay?" she asked, concern seeping into her voice. She reached through the bars and placed her hand on his.  
  
He looked at her as if in a daze, his eyes blank.  
  
"They took her" he said hoarsely and her eyes widened.  
  
"Acire?" He nodded. "Where?"  
  
"I don't know"  
  
Trin saw he was hurting badly and she squeezed his hand reassuringly, even though her heart was beating fast on the inside.  
  
"Don't worry, Heero'll be here to let you out in a few; he found Quatre, Trowa and Wufei in another cell. Then we'll find her"  
  
As if on queue, Heero and the three other pilots came running down the hall toward the cell Duo was being kept in. Heero skillfully opened the lock on the cell with the blade he had borrowed from Trin, and did the same with Duo's handcuffs.  
  
"Are you okay?" she heard Quatre's soft voice to her right.  
  
"Yeah I'm fine, but they took Acire" she answered hastily, not taking her eyes away from the blade as Heero opened the handcuffs with it. He tossed it to her as he finished and she caught it easily. Duo's arms dropped to his sides, the same blank look lingered in his eyes. Trin watched him with sorrow, but turned to Heero nevertheless.  
  
"We have to find Acire," she said flatly, "*now*"  
  
At the mention of her name, Duo had seemed to be brought back to life. His fists clenched and his normally laughing eyes, flared with anger. Without a word, he took off down the hall.  
  
"Hey! Duo!" Trin called after him, but he ignored her. She cursed heavily.  
  
"Trowa and Wufei, get to the control board and disable the security. Quatre find our gundams, Trin, go with him." Heero barked, going into his soldier mode. "I'll find him"  
  
Neither of them uttered an argument, as they all ran in separate directions. Trin followed Quatre as told, but she wasn't happy about it. Finding the gundams sounded hardly all that important, besides, revenge flowed through her veins. She craved vengeance like an addict craves for drugs. The feeling was all too familiar to her, but she made no attempt to suppress it. She was entitled to revenge, for what he did to her, for whatever he did to Acire. What he did to Duo. Heero. Yes, even Heero. Just because he didn't love her, didn't mean he deserved any of this. Didn't mean she didn't care what happened to him; if he lived or died. The last thought was the final straw. Without hesitation she turned, and soundlessly backtracked and followed the hallway Heero took. She slipped into the darkness so quietly Quatre hadn't noticed and kept running, unaware he was leaving her to defend for herself.  
  
* * *  
  
"What did you do with her?"  
  
Duo had one of the men that had taken Acire by the throat, the others were unconscious on the floor. The guard glared at him, and he pressed harder.  
  
"Answer me,"  
  
Harder yet. Gasping for breath, the man pointed a shaky finger at the door to their left. Duo released his grip and the guard plummeted to the floor. He swung the door open. He was outside, and his first thought was that he had been tricked, but then his eyes fell on a fresh pile of dirt and shovels; his breath caught in his throat and his heart sank.  
  
Grabbing one of the shovels, Duo began frantically digging the earth away. The blackened brown mass seemed endless, and he had lost all hope when his shovel hit something hard. He dug faster and in seconds uncovered a long coffin-like wooden box. The shovel dropped from his hands as he leaped down. The lid was heavy, but anger had given him extra strength. What he saw as he moved the lid out of the way, drained all the color from his skin.  
  
In the small wooden space, lay Acire; her skin was pale, blood just beginning to congeal on the side of her forehead. Her upper body was partially covered by dirt; worms crawled through it, oblivious to their new residence. His gaze fell on her hands. Her fingernails were torn and bloody, as she must have tried to claw her way out. But the worst was her face, her eyes wide open, her mouth frozen in a silent scream.  
  
"No," a choked cry escaped his lips. "No"  
  
He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, as if that would put life back into her cold body. He pressed his mouth against hers, trying to force air back into her lungs. His hands pounded her chest, attempting to restart her long-stopped heart. He continued to routine, unable to accept the truth. Suddenly his hand slipped and he collapsed onto the corpse, tears choking him, blinding his vision.  
  
* * *  
  
The door opened easily as she pushed against it and ran into the room. Shutting the door behind her she froze and listened. A few pairs of footsteps passed the door and continued down the hall. She grinned; unnoticed once again. A dull glow came from behind her and she turned, to see that she was in a large lab. Tables lined with computers and chemicals covered most of the space. The computer nearest to her was the source of the light. She came closer and her eyes widened as she looked at the screen. On the left side of the monitor was a picture of her and a molecule of her DNA. On the right side, too quickly for her to register, came and went other pictures and molecules. The computer must have been looking for a match.  
  
Her fingers curled into fists as anger flowed through her. Looking for a match, was he? With her DNA, was he? Well, she'd show him.  
  
She reached down and tapped a few keys, interrupting the procedure. Working quickly, she deleted all her files from the database. Then a thought struck her, and she did a quick search for Acire's files. As they came up one by one, she deleted them. As she finished she smiled with satisfaction and as she turned to leave, came face to face with a guard, his gun pressing into her gut.  
  
"Don't move a muscle"  
  
She blinked. Was he serious?  
  
With one swift kick, his gun flew across the room and smacked into a wall. A smirk spread across her lips. Too easy.  
  
Without his gun the guard wasn't half as confident. He backed away as she walked toward him and bumped into a table. As he looked up, his face met her fist and he fell to the floor unconscious. Pathetic.  
  
With a final distasteful look, she turned and left the room. In the hallway a half circle of guards, all armed, greeted her.  
  
'Damn'  
  
* * *  
  
Heero ran down the hall, not really knowing where he was going, but his instinct told him to go that way. Suddenly an ear-piercing siren sounded and red emergency lights flashed. He cursed. It was only a matter of time before they found them missing. He ran faster. A heavy oak door loomed ahead of him and he kicked it open. Heero found himself in a large room. Hardly lit, and seemed to be the only place where bright red lights didn't flash in his eyes. At the far wall, on a small pedestal stood a heavy wooden desk. Behind it was a leather chair, its back facing him.  
  
"Heero Yuy. I wasn't planning to see you until later but, welcome" It was the voice of the man in the mask, the one Heero found so familiar. The chair turned and for once, he was not hidden in the shadows and the light of a candle on his desk reflected off of the metallic mask that hid his face. A smile spread across his lips as he leaned his elbows on the desk.  
  
"This is the last time I'm gonna ask this, who the hell are you?" Heero barked from his end of the room, the gun he had taken from a guard, pointed directly at the man.  
  
His features –at least those visible- twisted in fury. His right hand shot out and the candle along with the candleholder flew off the desk. It fell to the floor and cluttered down the stone steps. A few miscellaneous papers caught on fire, but neither paid attention.  
  
"You don't even remember any of them, do you? All the people you've killed. All the lives you've destroyed. Do you see their faces? Hear them scream in agony? *Do you?*"  
  
His normally steady hand shook slightly and the gun had seemed to greatly increase in weight. The shadows in his mind began to float together again. Making a picture. Recreating a memory.  
  
"I am Melody Kaichou's father"  
  
**He turned his gundam just in time to see the Shuttle XZ6 574 crash into the ground. His entire body froze as he saw explosion after explosion erupt where the shuttle hit the earth. His eyes widened in horror as he realized that was the shuttle Relena was on.  
  
"No! Relena!" he cried desperately. But he knew it was too late. There was no chance she could have survived *that*.  
  
"Heero!" Duo's voice cut into his trance.  
  
His eyes frozen with terror and disbelief looked up at the screen just as Duo connected him with a communication link the others had just received inside their cockpits.  
  
"I hope this will be a warning to you all-" a shadowed figure on the screen spoke. Suddenly as he became aware of Heero he leaned forward in his chair slightly.  
  
"Heero Yuy! You were supposed to be on Shuttle XZ6 574!" he exclaimed. "No matter. I will deal with you later, but let this be a lesson to you all"**  
  
No. Impossible. Heero knew he had seen him before. He was the one who crushed Relena's shuttle.  
  
His hands shook harder.  
  
**'I'm not lost at all. I know exactly where I am. I'm just taking Mary here for a walk'**  
  
That girl…She was so young…so helpless. So Melody was her name, huh? He hadn't even known.  
  
Memories blurred his vision. The scenes replayed in his memory as if someone had pushed the 'repeat' button.  
  
It wasn't his fault. It was his first mission. But he was careless. She never saw it coming. She didn't deserve it.  
  
Heero's head dropped.  
  
She had given him a flower and he gave her death.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin allowed the guards to drag her through the halls, letting them think they had succeeded in capturing her. She didn't see the significance of fighting them at this point. Even if she was able to take them down, she'd be tired and most likely injured in the end. Plus, they were all armed, and getting shot didn't really appeal to her. Besides, she had a different plan in mind.  
  
She grinned as the flashing emergency lights and the siren silenced abruptly. So Wufei and Trowa finally got to the control board. What took them so long?  
  
"What the hell?" one of the guards shouted as they were bathed in the dim light of the backup system. "What happened to the goddamned security system?"  
  
Murmurs of confusion answered him from the other guards and he frowned. Trin raised a sly eyebrow.  
  
"Problem, boys?"  
  
The guard behind her grunted and pushed her forward as they continued walking.  
  
"Shut up if you know what's good for you" The comment made her smile. She knew what was good for *her*.  
  
Once again giving them the illusion they were in control, she let them push her through the halls until they reached a heavy metal door. She was led through it and into a large room. Directly in front of her was a wooden desk and a figure sat in a chair behind it. They had entered from what seemed to be the back of the room and the only thing she could see over the high back of the chair was a metal mask on the person's head.  
  
She smirked. Just like she had thought. Why waste time searching when she could be led straight to where she wanted to be?  
  
But as she looked across the dimly lit space her breath caught in her throat. On the other side of the room was Heero; his arms and legs chained to a metal plate by heavy chains. His head was bowed and she couldn't see his face for his bangs covered it. He wasn't moving.  
  
The chair turned, making a nasty squeal of metal against metal.  
  
"Ah, Miss Silverlight. So glad you could join us." He stood and walked toward her, easily covering the small space between them. His hand reached up to brush her cheek and it took all the strength she had to restrain herself from breaking his neck. 'Not yet' she told herself, her fists clenching nevertheless.  
  
After a moment he stepped back and waved off the guards.  
  
"Lock the door behind you" he instructed.  
  
A cold shiver ran down Trin's back. This wasn't a part of her plan, but no problem, she could work around it.  
  
"What brings you here? I'd think you would be as far away from this place as possible, by now." he asked calmly as he walked around the desk and turned to glace at her over his shoulder.  
  
She ignored the question.  
  
"What did you do to Heero?"  
  
His right eye glinted dangerously in the reddish light of the growing flame.  
  
"It's not what I did, Miss Silverlight, it's what he did"  
  
"Which would be?"  
  
"He murdered my daughter"  
  
* * *  
  
A final shower of bullets swept down the remaining guards and Quatre was able to enter the hangar. As suspected, the gundams were lined up with Wing Zero and Deathscythe in the front and Shenlong, Sandrock and Heavyarms in the back. The only security visible to a naked eye was a thin see-through green shield that surrounded each gundam, but Quatre suspected there was more.  
  
"Go to the security panel and see if you can-oh no,"  
  
He had been so caught up in battle that he hadn't realized Trin was gone. Last time he checked she was right behind him, of course that was when they had first separated from the others. He ran his hand trough his blond hair. How could he have been so careless? But there was nothing he could do now except hope that she was okay or that she was with another pilot. With a sigh he started toward the security panel.  
  
* * *  
  
His daughter…? Trin remembered Heero telling her about his first mission the night after the incident at the mall. So he *was* telling the truth, then. This was not what she had expected. No double-cross, no stolen data; only a grieving father looking for revenge.  
  
"He murdered her in cold blood and he will pay greatly for it"  
  
Trin's head jerked up from her thoughts.  
  
"It was an accident" she stated bluntly, her eyes burrowing into his until he turned his back to her.  
  
"You don't even know what you're talking about."  
  
She saw he was loosing his edge and pushed further.  
  
"And you do?"  
  
His hand twitched on the smooth surface of the desk.  
  
"He killed my only daughter!" The unexpected cry made Trin jump. It was so full of angst and anger, it sent another icy shiver down her spine. He whirled around, his eyes burning with anger.  
  
"*It ends today!*" His hand slammed on a tiny red button underneath the edge of the desk. The metal plate Heero was chained to began to glow; bluish silvery energy crawled up the sides and grabbed onto him like claws. It ran through his body as the plate began to spin, elevating slowly off the ground. Heero's head snapped up, his features strained with obvious plain.  
  
"*He will experience all the pain he's cost anyone! Ever!*"  
  
Trin stared up at Heero in dismay. His eyes forced open slightly and locked with hers for a brief second. The pain in them was unbearable; she had to do something immediately. Without thinking she lunged at the taller man in front of her. He fell forward and they rolled down the stone steps. Once on the floor, he pushed her away from him and began to get up. Trin jumped to her feet and kicked his ribs making him bend to the floor.  
  
"Stop it! Now!" She cried, and he laughed. His arm moved quickly and grabbed her ankle. She cried out as her feet were pulled out from underneath her and she fell backwards onto the hard ground. Bright colors swam in front of her eyes as her head hit the floor. Through the loud ringing of her ears she heard the man get up and run. The next thing she knew there was an explosion and the room was filled with smoke. Another explosion followed and she was bathed in the red glow of the flames. The colors in front of her eyes subsided and she stood up unsteadily. She squinted, trying to find Heero but was nearly thrown off her feet by another explosion.  
  
"Heero!" she called out shakily, but received no response. A bluish glow cut through the haze and she stumbled toward it. Beads of sweat ran down her face, it was becoming increasingly hot in the room. She winced as her right arm was licked by a flame and dove forward. She landed on her stomach and as she looked up, saw the metal plate with Heero strapped to it. She could hardly make out his shape in the smoke and the plate was spinning extremely fast at that point.  
  
"Heero!" Trin yelled once again getting to her feet, she tripped and scraped her ankle, "Damn, Heero!"  
  
She couldn't make out his face, but it was like he was in some sort of trance. A hoarse cry of pain sounded and she winced, recognizing Heero's voice. She couldn't even imagine the pain he must've been feeling, it would have to be unbearable for him to cry out. She knew she had to do something. *Now*.  
  
* * *  
  
Bits of debris, some on of fire, some just plain hot, showered down on Duo and he instinctually covered Acire. The unbearable cold of her body chilled him to the bone and he looked up slowly into her cold dead eyes. There was nothing that was alive there; all he saw was cold dark death. He felt a sharp pang in his heart as reality sunk it. She was dead, there was nothing he could do. No bad guy to kill, no special potion that would revive her. This was the hard reality and he felt powerless.  
  
He bent down and kissed her forehead gently, then as he got up, ran his palm down her face, letting her eyes close and her soul rest. With a final sad look, he turned and ran toward the building as another explosion shook the ground.  
  
* * *  
  
Trin spun around once more in panic. Another set of bombs had gone off and the walls were starting to crumble. The switch that was used to activate 'the torture chamber' had been damaged and she had no idea as to how else she could stop it.  
  
As a last desperate attempt to free him, she grabbed her blade and stabbed it into the machine up to the dragon's head. Sparks flew as the machine short-circuited. The chains opened and released Heero tumbling to the ground. Trin dove on top of him and both of them rolled to the side as the heavy metal plate fell to where they were just moments ago.  
  
Trin pulled herself up on her hands and looked down at the pilot underneath her. His muscles were tense and his entire body twitched. She ran her hand down his cheek where skin opened and blood began to ooze. A couple more seconds and he would have been dead.  
  
"You okay?" her voice came out strained and slightly shaken.  
  
"Yeah" he replied trying to regain his posture, but his voice cracked.  
  
A sudden explosion sent Trin falling onto him. His hands reached up and caught her, she felt him shake.  
  
She became mesmerized by his eyes, as she often did, but this time she pulled away, remembering what had happened earlier that night. She stood and reached down to help him, but he brushed away her hand and stood up alone.  
  
"We have to get out of here!" Trin shouted over the crackling of the flames and parts of the walls collapsing. "The building won't hold up for much longer!"  
  
Heero nodded and looked around swiftly.  
  
"There" he pointed to a staircase behind a partially collapsed wall and took off toward it without any further comment.  
  
Trin rolled her eyes as if saying, 'I just saved the guy's life, the least he could do is say thanks', and ran after him.  
  
Heero leapt over the collapsing stone easily and reached back to help Trin only to find her on his side smirking up at him. Fixing her with a cold glare he continued up the steps, missing the deathglare she sent him in return.  
  
Taking two steps at a time they reached the top quickly and Heero kicked the door down without hesitation.  
  
"Kuso," he cursed as they found themselves on the rooftop. Trin turned back to the stairway and immediately took a step back. The stairs, the walls, everything was engulfed in flames.  
  
"Heero, what the hell do we do?" she cried, backing away as the flames grew.  
  
He walked toward the edge and looked down.  
  
"We jump"  
  
* * *  
  
Quatre grinned as he finally broke the code to the security panel. He tapped a few keys quickly.  
  
"Security disabled" a computerized voice deadpanned.  
  
The ground shook from yet another explosion as he jumped into Sandrock's cockpit after setting all the other gundams on automatic to follow his.  
  
"Hey there buddy" Quatre smiled gently and ran his hand over the controls as the gundam came to life "Good to have you back"  
  
* * *  
  
"We *what*?!" Trin shouted as she crossed over to Heero "I'm sorry, did I mishear you? We *jump*?! Are you out of your mind?!"  
  
Heero silently grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her so she was looking down at a tree that reached about to the fifth floor of the ten- story building.  
  
"That'll break our fall." he explained.  
  
"Oh." Trin stood dumbfounded "Are you out of your mind?"  
  
Heero glared in exasperation. "It's either that or death. Take you pick."  
  
Trin sighed.  
  
"Well if you put it that way"  
  
They took a couple of steps back and Heero outstretched his hand for her to take. She hesitated, but took it nevertheless. She swallowed hard. "Three...Two…One"  
  
It took just four short steps to reach the edge and before she could prepare herself, they were falling through the air.  
  
The ground came rushing forward at them and just as a thought floated through her mind that this wasn't a good idea, the tree jumped out practically out of nowhere. Heero's free hand reached out and grabbed a thick branch. Trin reached with hers as well but her sweaty palm slipped, tearing her fingernails and she continued falling.  
  
As she opened her mouth to scream, she stopped with a jolt and suddenly found herself suspended in the air. She looked up, startled, just then remembering that Heero had her other hand.  
  
Before she could do anything else, another explosion shook the ground and the building blew up from inside out. The branch cracked and they practically fell the last five stories, hitting the dirt. As explosion after explosion erupted through the base, Heero jumped to his feet and pulled up Trin roughly, dragging her after him.  
  
They barely ran a few tenth feet as a final, almost nuclear-like blast erupted, sending them to the ground, Heero diving on top of Trin to shield her. A wave of fire swept above them along with a shower of rubbish and a flare of wind ruffled their clothes and hair.  
  
Heero lifted his head slightly and seeing that they were out of danger, got to his feet, pulling up Trin along with him. They turned, and watched as the blaze engulfed the remains of the base, the highest flames licking the bottom of the night sky and the black smoke blowing over the moon. Neither noticed that Heero's hand was still on Trin's forearm. Five dots appeared in the sky, the five gundams nearing and two figures walked through the smoke, revealing Trowa and Wufei. Another figure neared as well. Duo.  
  
Trin turned slightly, giving Heero a sly smile. "So it's over," she said.  
  
"It's never over," he murmured back.  
  
His other hand came up to rest on her shoulder. Her body jerked instinctually, but she hadn't noticed and Heero let it go. She knew she should pull away, but she couldn't. Her hand reached up to rest on his back. She knew he didn't feel for her what she felt for him, but at the moment she didn't care. She looked up into his blue eyes and he gave her a small, but real, smile. She smiled back. Their faces neared, then, a deafening blast filled her ears. A look of shock passed Heero's face and she saw genuine pain in his eyes for the first time. Something warm and wet trickled down her hand, the one she had around his back. She brought it to her face. Her hand was bloody. Heero's blood.  
  
Her lip trembled, she looked up at him, a strong feeling of déjà vu sweeping over her. As if in slow motion, she looked over his shoulder and saw Shane standing there, jealousy and rage written on his blood-spattered face. His clothes were torn and black and he leaned to the side slightly.  
  
Trin looked back at Heero, his eyes were glazing over. She reached into his jacket pulling out the gun he had taken from a guard. She aimed.  
  
Another deafening blast pierced the air. Then another and another. The gundams had landed and the others were shouting to her, but she didn't hear them. Shane long had fallen, but she kept shooting the body and it would jerk slightly as the bullets hit it.  
  
Finally, a dry click. The bullet chamber was empty. She lowered the gun and looked down. Heero was now on the ground, his lips parted as he struggled to breathe and blood flowed out of his mouth. The gun fell from her hand as she dropped on her knees next to him, burying her head in his chest. 


	22. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
Trin sat on a chair next to Heero's hospital bed. She looked at the Wing Zero pilot in front of her and her heart ached. He had been in a coma for a week now and the doctors said he didn't have much chance to pull out. She didn't cry, but she hadn't moved from her spot next to him either.  
  
"You are only human aren't you?" she whispered as she lightly traced the outline of his face. Everyone had thought he was indestructible. The Perfect Soldier. But he wasn't, he was the same as the rest of them, but they had long forgotten that.  
  
She stood and placed a single white rose on the table near his bed.  
  
"Heero," her voice was husky "I love you more than you will ever know or can ever imagine, that's why I can't do this. I'm so sorry, please forgive me"  
  
She bent down and gently kissed his forehead, wishing his eyes would open, but they didn't. She sighed and walked toward the exit. Pausing in the doorway she was going to look back, but didn't. Her footsteps echoed as she walked through the empty hallway and disappeared into the night.  
  
Two days later Heero awoke in his room in pain and alone. The first thing that he saw was the white rose; it's petals surprisingly healthy and alive.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Walking away  
  
Is the hardest thing to do,  
  
When all I want is to stay  
  
Want you to open your eyes,  
  
Kiss me with your lips  
  
But those are just reveries,  
  
Blurring my memories  
  
Dancing under the moonlight,  
  
Kissing in candlelight,  
  
1 Those are the memories I'll never forget,  
  
But I had to let you go  
  
The starlight will wash away my pain  
  
You left my heart lying broken on the floor  
  
I still love you, but I had to walk through the door.  
  
What was real and what was a dream,  
  
It's all swirling into one,  
  
Can't tell what is there and what is gone  
  
Stuck between it all is me,  
  
Struggling to tell apart dream and reality  
  
Walking away,  
  
My footsteps echoing in the dark hallway,  
  
The wind blowing at my empty soul,  
  
I will not think of you anymore.  
  
It felt like someone stabbed me through the heart,  
  
And slowly turned the knife,  
  
But I walked away from the memories of my past life,  
  
Leaving you behind.  
  
There's only one thing I want you to know,  
  
Even though I disappeared in the night's shadow,  
  
It doesn't mean I forgot it all,  
  
It doesn't mean I don't care  
  
Every single day I'll be in a nightmare  
  
Thinkin' how it could be different,  
  
If only I didn't walk away  
  
I want you to know that every night I'll open my eyes and think of you,  
  
I'll remember you face and your eyes  
  
All I ask is forgive me,  
  
Don't hold on to the memories,  
  
Understand it had to be done,  
  
Everything we might've had is gone  
  
Please erase me from your memory,  
  
Let it all just be a reverie.  
  
  
  
  
  
THE END.  
  
  
  
  
  
Story, Plot, song lyrics and all characters except the original Gundam Wing characters are ©Arion 2002  
  
I do not own the original Gundam Wing characters or the show.  
  
Yet ^.~ 


	23. ~*~Dedications*~

Dear Readers,  
  
Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's done (the lyrics were obviously from Trin's point of view, lol). I'm sure you're dying to hurt me right now, lol. But don't worry, I've decided to write a sequel. It'll be up soon since school is over and I have more time to write. Keep checking back, or if you want, leave your e-mail or AIM and I'll contact you the second it's up. I was also thinking of making a site dedicated to Predator and the sequel to come, so tell me if it's a good idea and if it's worth it.  
  
Most importantly, I want to thank all of you for reviewing and supporting all the way through, especially since this is my very first Gundam Wing fanfic. This is also, the longest fic I have ever written, with more reviews than I ever imagined having! Although I do wish I could hit 200 before it ended, lol!  
  
But more specifically, I want to thank the following people:  
  
Alexia Goddess,  
  
My best friend and beta reader. Thanks so much for proofreading and helping me when I had writers block! Me and her are co-writing a few fics at the moment, they should be up soon so look forward to that. Also go check out her solo fics!!  
  
Demon Faerie Aeryka,  
  
My second beta reader and also a good friend. Thanks for sticking with the fic and making sure the characters weren't OCC. Go check out her fics as well, everyone! Especially "When Angels Deserve to Die" books one through three, so far. It's AWESOME!  
  
Silent Pegasus a.k.a. ShiroiShenlong,  
  
Oh my god, thanks for introducing me to Gundam Wing in the first place!! I am SOOO glad you did! I was only half serious about hurting Wu-wu, lol!  
  
FireDemon and Ice Eyes,  
  
My god, I think yours were the longest reviews ever. But I would always look forward to them. You stuck with the fic from the beginning so I knew if you said it was good, it must've been. Sometimes you would be the only ones to review the chapter, thanks! Hope to see your reviews for the sequel!  
  
Seeress,  
  
Your reviews would be nice but still criticize enough for me to know what to watch out for. Thanks for that! Continue your fic and update more often!  
  
Hota-chan,  
  
Thanks for pointing out that I misspelled Quatre's middle name! lol!  
  
Azngurl,  
  
Thanks fore reviewing *every* chapter and IMing me everyday asking if I updated! lol!  
  
~*Sarah*~, Angel123292, Inazuma No Megami, Kywraith Amnesi, juliemoonstar, BloodMoon, Mirashi Haku, Ali,  
  
Thanks so much for reviewing like EVERY chapter! You guys are awesome!  
  
My nameless muse,  
  
Even though she has a tendency to pack up and join Alexia's muse on vacation at the worst times, thanks! lol!  
  
And finally, everyone else who had come and went throughout the course of this fic!  
  
Once more, everyone, thank you so much for everything!  
  
Luv,  
  
~Arion~ 


End file.
